Dangerous Times
by Blue Kangaroo
Summary: What would have happened if Jack hadn't taken that phone call at the end of season 5? The Chinese still have their ways of getting to him... S5 finale AU. Follows Jack's experiences in a Chinese prison and the attempts to bring him home.
1. Chapter 1

**TITLE: **"Dangerous Times"

**RATING: **PG/PG-13

**SUMMARY: **What would have happened if Jack hadn't taken that phone call at the end of season 5? The Chinese still have their ways of getting to him... S5 finale AU. Follows Jack's experiences in a Chinese prison and the attempts to bring him home.

(I HATED the way they set up Jack's kidnapping at the end of S5, so I'm using ep 5x24 as a springboard for an AU fic.)

**DISCLAIMER:** I own the DVD's (they're very pretty in their nice shiny cases), but I don't own the actual show or its characters. I'd LOVE to own them, but I don't. They belong to Jon Cassar and the other geniuses that created the wonderful world of _24._

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **I actually wrote this story a long time ago, in the months between the S5 finale and the S6 premiere. My computer erased all of my Word files a few months ago, and all of my stories were lost. I had to re-type this one and most of my others. Here it is: "Dangerous Times" re-written! Enjoy!

"**Dangerous Times"**

_Audrey Heller's heart skipped a beat as she scanned the crowd in front of her, searching intently for Jack. At last, she spotted him sitting off to the side, being treated by a medic. There was a nasty bleeding gash above his right eye, and Audrey winced. _

_The medic spoke to Jack and dabbed at his wound with a small square of gauze. Audrey guessed that it held some sort of antiseptic. Her guess was confirmed when Jack flinched and pulled back from the woman's touch, grimacing in pain. Then he spotted Audrey, and gave the woman's hand a polite but firm push. "Give me a minute." The woman didn't protest. Without a word, she picked up her supply bag and stepped away._

_Jack got to his feet and came to greet Audrey. "Hey," he said quietly._

_Audrey smiled. "Hey." She shook her head, half-laughing and half-scolding. "My God, Jack, when I heard that you'd kidnapped the President..."_

_An unreadable expression flickered on Jack's face. "I wanted him to give a direct confession."_

_Audrey rolled her eyes, laughing slightly. Then she sighed, fighting tears. "I can't believe you're...you're really _here,"_ she said helplessly, leaning in to hug him tightly. "How much longer do you have to stay here?"_

_"Not long," Jack told her. "They can debrief me later." Without saying anything more, he pulled Audrey towards him and kissed her deeply. _

_The moment was shattered when a tall, slim Asian man approached. "Excuse me," he said politely. "Agent Bauer?"_

_Jack eyed him. "Yes?"_

_"There's a call for you," the man told him. "From your daughter."_

_The surprise on Jack's face was clear. "From...my daughter?" he asked hesitantly._

_"Yes, sir. Kim Bauer. It's been put through to a land line, just inside that door," the man told him, pointing to the warehouse behind them. _

_Jack nodded. "Thanks." The man smiled slightly at him, and then he stepped away and disappeared into the crowd._

_Jack glanced at Audrey. "I won't take long."_

_"Take your time," she told him with a smile. "I'm not going anywhere."_

_Jack glanced at the door that the man had pointed to. "I'll be right back." With one last glance at Audrey, he pulled away and started towards the door._

Audrey hesitated. "Jack, wait." He turned back to face her. "I...I don't know," she faltered. "Maybe I'm just paranoid, but something just seems...not right. You have a cell phone; Kim knows the number. And if she didn't, they'd put the call through to one of the TAC agents. Why would it be put through on a land line?" Jack's eyebrow arched. "I don't know," Audrey said again. "Something just feels a little weird to me."

She was interrupted by the ringing of Jack's cell phone. Looking slightly annoyed, he fished the ringing phone from his jacket pocket. "Bauer."

"Jack, it's Chloe. I just — "

"Hey, Chloe. Listen, can I call you back in a few minutes?" Jack asked, cutting her off. "They just told me that Kim's on the phone, on a land line here. I really need to talk to her. I'll call you back."

"Jack." Chloe's voice had an odd tone to it. "Did you say Kim's on a land line there?"

"Yeah, why?" Jack said cautiously.

"That can't be," Chloe told him. "I've got her on my cell phone here. She called me to ask if I knew if there were any babysitters in my neighborhood. She needs a sitter for Angela." The blood drained from Jack's face, and he froze. _"Don't take that call,_ Jack," Chloe ordered. "Someone's trying to trap you. Get out of there."

Jack was silent for several moments. At last he croaked, "I-I...okay. Thanks, Chloe." With that, he hung up and turned back to Audrey.

"You were right," he managed. "It's a trap. We've got to get out of here."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Before Jack had even finished speaking, he was already in motion. He grabbed Audrey's arm, and they set off at a brisk pace, heading for his car. Audrey had to run to keep up with Jack's long-legged stride, but she didn't complain.

With his free hand, Jack grabbed his cell phone and dialed. "Bill, it's Jack," he said curtly. "Listen, I can't stay here. Something's up. I'm not sure exactly what, but somebody just tried to trap me. I'm on my way back to CTU; I'll fill you in when I get there." Without waiting for a response, Jack hung up the phone. "Let's go." Without a word, Audrey scrambled into the passenger seat of Jack's SUV. She had barely closed the door behind her before Jack was already pulling out of the parking lot. As they sped towards CTU, Audrey could only pray that whoever was out there wasn't following them and lying in wait.

-o-o-o-o-

Bill Buchanan's jaw dropped as he stared at Jack and Audrey. "My God, Jack," he managed. "That's..."

"Absolutely insane?" Jack said dryly. "Yeah, I know. Thank God that Chloe warned me. Who knows what would have happened?" He ran a hand through his hair. "As soon as I called you, I got in the car with Audrey and drove straight here. I don't know if they followed me. For all I know, they're out there waiting—whoever _they_ may be."

"Can you describe the man that talked to you?" Bill asked him. "The one that told you about the phone call?"

Jack closed his eyes to think. "He's...oh...about six-foot-two. Tall and slender. He was wearing a suit. He was Asian — "

"Asian?" Bill interrupted sharply. "Jack, I hate to say this, but... do you think there's a possibility that he works for the Chinese? Could he be one of Cheng Zhi's men?"

Jack visibly paled. "I hadn't thought about that. Yeah, that's a possibility. But how would they— oh, Christ. _Logan._ I bet he tipped them off to get revenge." He exhaled hard. "Oh, my God."

Bill saw that Jack was visibly shaken by this turn of events. "We'll get to the bottom of this, Jack. I promise. We'll find out what's going on here." He reached for the phone. "I'm going to call Mark Kelly and have him get a sketch of the man that you saw. We'll see if Chloe can get a positive ID."

Mark Kelly arrived within minutes, and set to work drawing a composite sketch of the man that Jack described. For the next several minutes, he erased and made changes as Jack suggested various corrections. At last, Jack nodded, satisfied. "That's as close as we're going to get."

Bill reached for the sketch. "Thanks, Mark. I'll get this to Chloe, and we'll see if she can get an ID. In the meantime, Jack, you're probably not safe," he added grimly. "They may be watching you. I don't think you should go home tonight." He smiled wanly. "I could fix you a cot and put you in one of the Holding cells," he said, making a feeble attempt at humor. "At least you'd be locked away, so no one could get to you."

Jack shook his head. "I think I'll take a pass on that opportunity, thanks," he said dryly. "Seriously, though, I'm fine. Really. My house has a security system, and there are gun safes." He glanced at Audrey. "They targeted my friends once already. You may not be safe. I think you should come home with me tonight. Like I said, the house is protected." Normally, Audrey would have laughed and made a sly quip, but this was no joking matter. White-faced, she only nodded silently.

Bill got to his feet, and came around the desk to face Jack. "Don't hesitate to call us if you need anything tonight," he said seriously. He patted Jack's shoulder. "Go home, and get some sleep if you can."


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: Hey all! I'm so glad that you're liking this story so far. Thank you for the reviews! And, wow, __**Angeliena**__, you're right. I completely forgot about Diane and Derek when I wrote this fic! Um...we'll just say that Jack had an apartment before he had to disappear. Anyway, aside from that minor plot hole..._

_I'm not sure when I'll be able to get another chapter up for you. My semester final exams start on Tuesday, and I am drowning in piles of review guides and STUFF. AAAHHH!!!! Pray for me; pray that I can survive my finals without having a meltdown! Oh, well, only about 9 more days until Christmas vacation... THANK GOD!!!! (Hopefully I'll be able to get an update up before Christmas, but I apologize if I don't. Have a Merry Christmas (or happy Hanukkah, or whatever holiday you celebrate)!_

_Peace,_

_**BlueKangaroo**_

Chapter 3

That evening, both Jack and Audrey were tense and on edge. The slightest sounds outside made them flinch and jump, and they walked around the house on tiptoe. They shared a supper of penne pasta and garlic bread, but neither of them ate much. Both, however, pushed pasta around on their plates and tried to hide the fact that they weren't eating.

"Enough," Jack finally said, tossing down his fork with a clank. "I know you've barely eaten a thing, and you know I haven't. There's no use pretending. I think we should turn in early." They cleaned up the remains of their meal, and then they headed upstairs to bed.

Jack paused at the foot of the stairs and punched in a code to arm the security system for the night. The he motioned for Audrey to follow him. "Come here. I need to show you something." She followed him upstairs and down the hallway to his study. "There's a gun safe in here," Jack said quietly. "Behind the bookshelf in the corner. The code to open it is five-one-five-star. There's a safe downstairs in the living room, behind a false plate on the wall by the fireplace. The code to open that one is four-one-four-star. And there's a safe in each of the bedrooms, in the back of the closet. The code to open all three of those is three-nine-six-star." Audrey nodded silently. Her mind raced as she frantically tried to memorize all of the number sequences. Jack sighed heavily. "God, I never thought I'd need to do this. It's always been just a precaution. I've made a lot of enemies," he added bitterly.

Audrey bit her lip. She had never truly thought about what the full effects of Jack's work might be. She knew that his unethical methods and harsh temper angered some people, but she had never considered the fact that he was in danger. Everyone in the government had enemies somewhere, didn't they? But that didn't necessarily mean that they needed to worry about being hunted down and captured or killed... Audrey shuddered.

Jack saw the expression on her face, and knew instantly what she was thinking. "You don't have to worry about me, Audie," he said hastily. "Like I said, it was just a precaution. I'm safe." Audrey's facial expression plainly said that she didn't believe him for a second, but she said nothing. Jack pulled her towards him and wrapped her in a long, tight hug. "Let's go get some sleep."

-o-o-o-o-

Audrey slept fitfully that night, tossing and turning. She was awakened in the early hours of the morning by a shrill, incessant ringing sound. It took a few moments, but she gradually realized that the noise was coming from her cell phone on the nightstand next to the bed. _What time was it?_ She squinted bleary-eyed at the digital clock, and saw that its glowing red numbers read **3:05.** With a groan, Audrey groped for the ringing phone and answered it. "Hello?" she yawned.

"Audrey, it's Chloe O'Brian. Listen, I — "

Audrey groaned. "Chloe, it's 3:05 in the morning," she said irritably. "Jack and I will both be coming in to CTU sometime today for a debriefing. Can't this wait a few hours?"

"No," Chloe told her. "It can't. I've been trying to reach Jack, but he's not answering his phone, so I had to call you. I'm really sorry, but this is important."

Audrey sighed. "All right, what is it?" she asked, yawning again.

"I've been here all night, going over intel," Chloe told her. "I've got an ID on the man that Jack saw yesterday. His name is Li Xiao. So far, all evidence says that he works for and with Cheng Zhi." Audrey closed her eyes briefly. "He's thirty-two years old," Chloe continued, "and he holds dual citizenship. He has both a Chinese and an American passport. He divides his time between the US and China, and he's an expert at blending in and going unnoticed here. The aliases that he uses are Jason Wong and Daniel Shen." Audrey bit her lip, realizing the implications of what all of this could mean.

"Audrey," Chloe said urgently. "Li Xiao was spotted in downtown LA about an hour ago...heading in your general direction. I think it's safe to assume that he's headed for Jack. He could be anywhere from twenty minutes to five minutes away from you. You need to get out of there now."

Audrey was silent. "You still there?" Chloe asked.

"I-I...yes," Audrey stammered. "Yes, I'm here. I'm just...I'm trying to think...My God," she said helplessly. "I-I think Jack is downstairs somewhere. I'm going to go get him."

"Hurry," Chloe told her. "Find Jack; tell him what's going on. Then get out of there as fast as you can!"

Before Audrey could answer, the sound of glass breaking and something crashing echoed through the house. Shouts, yells, and pounding footsteps erupted downstairs. Audrey yelped. "Did you hear that?" she hissed.

"Yeah, I heard it." Chloe's tone was grim. "I don't know what that was, but you and I both know it wasn't Jack. Audrey, you need to get out of there _now."_

"I'm going, I'm going," Audrey told her. She was silent for a moment, thinking. "The second step from the top is squeaky, but if I move quietly and avoid it, I should be able to move a little ways down the stairs and see what's going on."

"Audrey!" Chloe shouted, exasperated. "Don't go down those stairs! Find another way to get out of the house, and _do it!"_ She paused. "Do you have a weapon of some sort, just in case?" Audrey spun on her heel and rushed across the room to the closet. She clawed wildly through the forest of clothes on hangers until her fingers brushed a small metal door on the back wall of the closet. For one horrible moment, she couldn't recall the combination to open it, but then she punched in the numbers: _3-9-6-._

Sighing with relief as the door clicked open, Audrey snatched up a 9mm Beretta handgun and several ammunition magazines. "I've got a gun," she reported, expertly loading the pistol and slipping it into the waistband of her pajama pants.

"Good," Chloe replied. "Now, for God's sake, _go!_ Get out of the house before whoever's there comes after you too!"

"I'm not leaving without Jack," Audrey shot back. With that, she crossed the room on tiptoe and bolted towards the stairs. Chloe was still speaking to her, ordering her to leave, but Audrey tuned her out and ignored her.

Just as she set foot on the top step, chaos erupted below. A series of thuds and crashes sounded somewhere in the back of the house, and a yell arose in response. Audrey shoved a fist into her mouth to muffle a horrified cry as she watched three...no, four...tall, well-built, muscled men rush towards the sounds. Each of them carried a large, ominous-looking black assault rifle. Her mother, Susan, had been a strong Christian, but in her teenage years Audrey had gradually drifted away from the faith. Now, however, she prayed desperately to whatever heavenly being might be up there, pleading for safety and protection for Jack and for herself.

A new sound echoed from downstairs. _Gunshots._ Audrey's heart flew into her throat. "Oh, dear God," she whispered. Clutching the pistol, she crept further down the stairs and peered between the slats on the banister railing. A shadowy form rushed past her, firing shots in the direction that he had come. Audrey's heart skipped a beat as she realized that the person was Jack.

More gunfire erupted. This time it was the uneven staccato beat of overlapping shots. That meant that whoever Jack was shooting at was returning fire. Audrey gasped as several bullets thudded into the wall, dangerously close to Jack's head. He ducked to the side and furiously returned fire.

Suddenly, a loud crack split the air. This was another gunshot, but it was much louder than the others had been. That could only mean that it had come from a higher-powered, larger gun than the others. The crack of the gunshot was followed by a high-pitched howl of pain that quickly gave way to a barrage of cursing. Holding her breath, Audrey peered between the slats in the railing. She was unable to stifle a horrified, panicked scream. _"Jack!!"_

Jack was huddled on the floor, clutching his right leg as a pool of crimson blood grew steadily wider around him. The men were gathered ominously around him in a tight circle, like vultures closing in on their prey. All activity and sound ceased as Audrey's shrill, terrified scream echoed in the room.

Seconds later, the activity began again. Audrey's cries turned to anguished sobs as she watched one man deal Jack a harsh blow with the butt of his rifle. Jack collapsed, landing in a limp, crumpled heap on the floor. Unceremoniously, two of the men picked him up and slung his limp form between them. Working together, they carried him out the open front door and disappeared into the darkness. From outside came the sound of a truck's engine starting, and then it faded as the vehicle pulled away. Then there was only silence.

From her vantage point, Audrey spotted a pair of sturdy black combat boots out of the corner of her eye. Frozen in place with shock and fear, she could only watch the massive boots—which were attached to huge, tall legs—make their way across the room towards her position on the stairs. Slowly, her gaze traveled upward, and she stared into a pair of the darkest, most malicious eyes that she had ever seen. The man's lips curled into a cold, mirthless smile as he stared down at her. Then the smile disappeared, and he glared at her with eyes like black steel as he snarled something in his native tongue. The harsh, foreign words, combined with his cold black eyes, made him seem like some kind of demonic being. Audrey shrank back, pressing herself against the wall.

Suddenly, Audrey remembered the gun at her side, and she reached frantically for it. The man's legs were longer, however, and Audrey watched helplessly as his heavy combat boot connected with her pistol and sent it skittering across the floor, far out of her reach. She crawled desperately towards it, knowing that it was her only hope.

A sharp crack split the air, and a jolt of searing pain shot through Audrey's body. She cried out in pain and surprise, but the sound was lost amid a volley of thuds and bumps as she fell backwards and tumbled head-over-heels down the stairs.

She was dimly aware of Chloe's voice on the other end of the phone, screaming her name, but Audrey couldn't respond. The sounds around her faded into silence as everything went black.

_A/N: Dun-dun-DUNNNN... TBC..._


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Audrey," Chloe yelled. _"Audrey!"_ There was no response. The phone fell from her hands and clattered hollowly on her desktop as Chloe leaped to her feet. Ignoring the startled looks that the other agents gave her, she rushed across the bullpen and up the flight of stairs to Bill Buchanan's second-floor office.

Bill was sitting at his desk, with Karen Hayes across from him. File folders were scattered across the desk, and Bill and Karen were bent over one of them. They both glanced up as Chloe burst into the room. "Chloe!" Karen exclaimed, startled. "Is everything all right?"

Chloe shook her head. "No," she said breathlessly. "I called Audrey, to let her know what we had found out about Li Xiao. He and his men broke into the house while I was talking with Audrey. From what I heard, they took Jack. It sounded like they shot Audrey...or at least shot _at _her," Chloe clarified. "I heard her scream, and then there were all these thuds and crashes. I've been calling her name, but there hasn't been any answer. Please, Bill, can you send someone to check on her?"

Bill nodded. "Of course. I'll send a team of TAC agents. It sounds like we'll need to send a medical team along as well."

"I'll go with them," Karen said instantly.

Bill nodded, and glanced at Chloe. "I assume you want to go as well?" She nodded, and he reached for the phone. "All right, then. Let me call up the TAC team."

-o-o-o-o-

"Audrey? Ms. Heller? Can you hear me?" The gentle voice was followed by a bitter smell wafting under her nose, and Audrey wrinkled her nose and coughed as she slowly regained consciousness. "That's it, nice and easy," the voice said soothingly. "Just take it easy." Audrey forced her eyes open, and saw a man in a medical uniform kneeling next to her with a container of smelling salts. "Hi, there," he said with a friendly smile. "My name's Brian. Welcome back to the Land of the Living. How are you feeling?" Audrey could only groan, and the man laughed. "That bad, huh? Well, I'll see what I can do to help you out."

"Audrey, do you know where you are?" Audrey shook her head no, flinching as the movement sent a stab of pain shooting through her head and neck. Slowly, carefully, she turned her head and saw Karen Hayes kneeling on her other side. It was Karen that had spoken. "You're at home," she said quietly. "You fell down the stairs and blacked out. Chloe asked Bill to send a few people to check on you. Do you remember anything about what happened?"

Audrey started to shake her head no, but then she nodded. "Chloe..." she rasped. "Chloe called to warn us about Li Xiao. I went to go get Jack, but then I guess Xiao's men broke into the house. I heard glass breaking and a lot of yelling. I hid on the stairs and watched." Audrey's breath caught in her throat, and her voice trembled. Karen smiled sympathetically and gave her hand a squeeze. "I heard gunshots. There was shooting, a lot of shooting. Then I heard Jack yell. He was on the floor, holding his leg. They'd shot him in the leg. I-I screamed; I couldn't help it. One of them hit Jack with his rifle and knocked him out, and they took him and drove away. The last guy came after me. I had a gun, but I couldn't use it. I was too scared to move. By the time I was able to move, it was too late. The guy kicked my gun away from me. When I crawled after it, I heard a loud cracking noise, and felt this sharp pain. I fell down the stairs, and I hit my head... I don't remember anything after that. I fainted, I think."

"Yes, you did," Brian told her. "We found you at the bottom of the stairs. You were out cold—and no wonder. You've got a nice big knot on your head. You clobbered yourself pretty good on your way down the steps." He reached for his bag. "I'd imagine that your head hurts after a blow like that. Do you hurt anywhere else?"

Audrey tried to sit up, but immediately fell back down. "Don't worry about me. I'm a little sore, but I'm fine. Really. You need to find Jack," she insisted. "That should be your first priority. Worry about me later, just find Jack first."

"We will," Karen assured her. "But we need to take care of you right now." Audrey opened her mouth to protest, but Karen shook her head. "I'm going to call Bill and let him know what you just told us. He'll work on it with the CTU teams. For now, though, you need to let Brian get a look at you. You are not going anywhere, Audrey" she added firmly. "CTU can handle it. You're not in any shape to do any sort of work right now. Let Brian fix you up. We'll get you back to CTU, and if the doctors there say it's okay for you to help us, _then_ we'll give you something to do."

Karen's tone left no room for argument. Audrey was feeling worse than she wanted to admit, so she gave up the fight. "Fine," she sighed. "Do what you have to do."

Brian moved closer to her. "Like I said, I'd imagine that your head hurts. Do you hurt anywhere else?"

Audrey nodded. "My side and my right leg," she told him. "And my wrist. I think I broke my fall with it."

Brian gently examined her wrist. "You broke your fall, all right, and you broke your wrist in the process. I'll set that for you, and they can put a cast on it when we get you back to CTU." He turned to look at her. "I'm going to set the bone for you, Audrey. I'm sorry," he said apologetically, "but it's going to hurt a little." Audrey bit her lip apprehensively. (She had never broken a bone. When they were children, her brother Richard had always been the one with the white-plaster-casted limbs after falls from trees, Rollerblades, or skateboards. Audrey had been the one to cover his cats with childish, colorful drawings.) "It'll only hurt for a minute or two," Brian told her. "And once I'm finished, I'll get you some Demerol for the pain." He took Audrey's hand. "Ready?" She nodded apprehensively. As gently as possible, Brian bent Audrey's wrist into the correct position and pressed the bones back into alignment. White-hot, searing pain exploded in Audrey's arm, and she cried out in pain as fresh tears spilled down her cheeks.

"There, it's over. I'm sorry; I know that hurt," Brian apologized as he gently placed Audrey's wrist into a temporary Velcro splint. "There. Now, you mentioned that your leg hurts?" Audrey nodded. "All right, let's see what we've got here." As gently as possible, Brian eased Audrey down until she was lying flat on her back.

"Well, no wonder your leg hurts," he commented. "That cracking sound that you heard was them shooting you with a heavy tranquilizer dart. It hit you in the leg, and you've been lying on it. If that's not enough to give you one very sore leg, I don't know what is. What do you say that we get that dart out of there?" His movements were gentle and careful as he deftly removed the dart and patted a square of gauze over the deep puncture wound in Audrey's thigh. "There. That's a deep, nasty wound, but fortunately it's not deep enough to need stitches. It'll be sore for a while, but you'll be all right." He taped the gauze into place. "And, last but not least, let's get a look at those ribs."

Brian's touch was light as he ran his hands over Audrey's body, searching for any other broken bones or internal injuries. Though he was gentle, Audrey cried out when his hands brushed the bruised area on her right side. The pain brought tears to her eyes, and she gasped. "That hurts, huh?" Brian asked. Audrey could only nod wordlessly as she fiercely blinked back pained tears. "What, a broken wrist and a puncture wound in your leg weren't enough?" Brian asked teasingly. "You had to go bang up your ribs, too?" In spite of her pain, Audrey smiled slightly. "Seriously, though, my touching you shouldn't hurt _that _badly," Brian told her. "It looks like you may have cracked or broken a few ribs. I can't do anything to help with those, I'm afraid. You're going to have to hang in there until we get back to CTU. The docs there will tape your ribs and get you all fixed up."

Gently, carefully, he helped Audrey sit up. "Let's get you over to CTU."

_TBC_

_A/N: I'M FREE!! My final exams are over; I don't go back to school until January 7. Nice LONG break; plenty of time for writing! I have a long list of stuff to accomplish in the three days before Christmas, so this update will be the last one until after Christmas. Consider it an early present. Have a Merry Christmas (or whatever holiday that you celebrate)!_


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Audrey Heller, this is the third time that I've treated you in twenty-four hours. You're a DOD liaison, not a crash-test dummy. What in the world are you doing?"

Audrey laughed, and then immediately flinched as a jolt of pain shot through her already-aching ribs. "Please don't make me laugh. It hurts."

"Sorry," Dr. Elaine Carlson apologized. "But, really, don't you think three clinic visits in one day are a little too many? I treated you after Agent Burke's interrogation, and I stitched up your arm after Christopher Henderson decided to stab you with a knife. What have you done to yourself now? Really, it's beyond my knowledge how you can do so much damage in one day. The only person that does more harm to himself in twenty-four hours is Jack Bauer," she added dryly.

Audrey wanted to laugh, but she settled for a grin. "It's all in a typical day's work at CTU," she said.

Dr. Carlson rolled her eyes and laughed. "Come on in, and let's get you patched up."

Gratefully, Audrey followed the doctor into a vacant treatment room and carefully pulled herself up onto the examining table. "We're searching for one of Cheng Zhi's cohorts, a man named Li Xiao," Brain spoke up from the doorway. "His men broke into Jack's house, kidnapped him, and shot Audrey with some sort of tranquilizer. She passed out and fell down the stairs. I splinted her wrist, but you'll need to cast it. She's got possible broken ribs on the right side; those need to be x-rayed and taped. And I took _this_ from her leg. I think it explains the limping." He handed the tranquilizer dart to Dr. Carlson. (Up close, the dart was even more ominous-looking. It was long and slender, with an impossibly thick, pointed needle on the end. A red vial was attached to the other end, and Audrey assumed that it held tranquilizer drugs. She shuddered. )

Dr. Carlson took the offending dart. "Thanks for the info. That helps." She eyed the dart. "I'll see if I can figure out what they might have used in this thing."

Brian nodded. "I'll leave you to your work. You take care, Audrey," he added. "Feel better soon." She smiled wanly, and he left the room.

Dr. Carlson turned to Audrey. "I'll do the easy part first." Audrey watched with interest as the doctor wrapped her injured arm in cotton and plaster. The material was warm and wet, but quickly dried and stiffened into a hard, firm cast. "There you go." Dr. Carlson helped her slip her injured arm into a sling. "Now, let's get a look at those ribs." She eased Audrey down until she was lying flat on her back, and carefully examined the bruised area on her side. The doctor's touch was gentle, but pained tears came to Audrey's eyes as Dr. Carlson's hands brushed against her sore ribs. "That hurts, huh?" Dr. Carlson asked, watching as Audrey flinched in pain. She nodded wordlessly. "Well, there's a definite possibility that you have a broken rib. Let me get some x-rays, and I'll see what we're dealing with."

Audrey arched her eyebrows as Dr. Carlson held up a slender metal object that was approximately the size of a toaster. "What is that?"

"This is a portable x-ray machine," Dr. Carlson replied. "It's a great invention. We can send it into the field with our medics, and save them the hassle of waiting until they're back here to use our normal-sized huge x-ray machine. That way, they can take the pictures and treat their patients in the field." She positioned the small machine over the bruised area on Audrey's side, and pressed a button. The machine hummed and whirred, and emitted a shrill beeping sound. "Now we'll wait while those develop." A few minutes later, the machine beeped again. "There. They're done. Let's see what we've got here."

Audrey watched as the doctor studied the grayish-white images. "I have good news and bad news," Dr. Carlson announced. "The good news is that you don't have any broken ribs. The bad news is that you do have three cracked ribs. That's why your side probably feels like you have a hot fire poker wedged against your ribs," she said grimly. "Cracked ribs are just as painful as broken ones. Let's get those taped."

Audrey sat silently, unmoving, with her teeth gritted, as her ribs were taped, splinted, and braced. "There," Dr. Carlson said at last. "All done." She helped Audrey wrestle her shirt back into place over the bulky brace. "Not very comfortable, I know. I would advise sleeping with a pillow under your ribs for some extra cushioning...and I recommend buying some button-down shirts. Cracked ribs take anywhere from three to six months to heal. That's going to feel like forever if you have to spend thirty minutes fighting with your shirt every morning. Button-down shirts work wonderfully."

Audrey nodded grimly. "Thanks for the tips. I guess I'll adjust, somehow."

Dr. Carlson smiled sympathetically. "For now, let me get you something to ease the pain." She went to the supply cabinet in the corner of the room, and produced a syringe and a vial of medication. "I'm going to give you a dose of Demerol." Quickly, efficiently, she rolled up Audrey's sleeve, swabbed her shoulder with alcohol, and administered the shot. "There."

Audrey blinked. "You're good. I hardly felt that."

"Well, good. I'm glad it wasn't as painful as getting shot with this monstrous thing," Dr. Carlson replied, motioning to the tranquilizer dart. "Now," she added, turning back to face Audrey. "Now that your body's had a chance to process what's happened to it, shock is going to set in. Shock, combined with the hefty dose of Demerol I just gave you, is going to make you start feeling pretty groggy. I'm ordering you to stay put in that bed. If you don't, you just might end up falling on your face on the floor. I don't want to tape any more of your ribs if I can help it. Nope," she added firmly as Audrey opened her mouth to protest. "Bed." Grumbling, Audrey flopped back against the pillow and pulled the sheets over herself. "Thank you," Dr. Carlson told her.

Her tone softened. "I know you're worried about Jack. While you take a nap, I'll go check and see if there's any news. If there is, I promise that I'll come straight back and tell you."

"Thank you," Audrey said gratefully.

Dr. Carlson smiled sympathetically. "You're welcome. Now get some sleep." She left the room, pulling the door closed behind her.

-o-o-o-o-

Jack Bauer groaned as he slowly regained consciousness. He frowned. Something wasn't right. The floor beneath him was vibrating gently, and a soft humming sound echoed through the small, cramped room where Cheng had placed him. The throbbing, rumbling noise sounded like...engines. Was he on a ship?

Gradually, Jack's eyes adjusted to the darkness. Straining to see in the dim light, he was able to make out the faint outlines of large square objects stacked around him. He reached out a tentative hand, and ran his fingers over the surface of one of the objects. His fingers touched cool, rigid metal...rusty chains...a large padlock... These were shipping containers, used to hold cargo. He was on a ship, a Chinese cargo freighter. The irony brought a bitter smile to his face. He was on a slow boat to China. Literally.

Jack shifted slightly on the cold concrete floor, grunting in pain. Every few hours, a guard had come into the tiny room, blindfolded and gagged him, and taken him to Cheng Zhi for questioning. His steadfast refusal to answer angered the guards, and had earned him several severe beatings. Every bone, muscle, and nerve in his battered body was raw and screaming for mercy.

Thinking coherently took far too much effort, and Jack closed his eyes wearily. A single thought pierced the murky fog in his brain. _Audrey._ Her face wavered before him, and he whispered her name into the dark, empty room before slipping into unconsciousness again.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

With a frustrated groan, Audrey flung her covers aside and sat up. Her cracked ribs shrieked a painful protest to the sudden movement, but she didn't care. This was ridiculous. She needed to be out there helping search for Jack, not lying here in bed staring at the walls. She wasn't going to lie in that bed for one second longer.

Audrey swung her legs over the side of the bed and pushed herself to a standing position. She fell back onto the edge of her bed as her head reeled, and the room lurched and spun dizzyingly. "Whoa," she muttered. Gradually, the room stopped spinning, and her vision righted itself and returned to normal. Gratefully, Audrey got to her feet again. Slowly, carefully, she made her way across the room to the door.

She pulled the door open and peered cautiously around the corner. No one was in sight. _Good._ Relieved, Audrey slipped into the hallway and pulled the door closed behind her. She tiptoed down the hallway and slipped unnoticed out of the Medical bay.

Chloe and Karen Hayes met her as she stepped out onto the main floor. Dr. Carlson was right behind them, and she shook her head. "Well, I see that you decided not to rest."

"I couldn't sleep," Audrey said shortly. "I was too busy thinking. Is there any news?" she added. Chloe, Karen, and the doctor all shook their heads regretfully. Audrey's heart sank.

"Audrey, it's okay," Chloe spoke up. "We've got time. The Chinese must have wanted Jack for _some_ reason. They're not going to kill him."

"You're right," Audrey said quietly. Her voice rose. "They won't kill him, because they want to torture him for information first! We all know it!" Tears stung her eyes, and she fiercely blinked them back.

Bill gave Chloe a scathing look. No one had to remind Audrey how much valuable information Jack carried with him. The Chinese would beat him within an inch of his life if they deemed it necessary. They had to find him..._soon._

-o-o-o-o-

On board the Chinese cargo freighter _S.S. Enlai,_ the door to the cargo hold squeaked open, sending a shaft of weak sunlight into the room. Jack blinked groggily, and slowly turned his head.

A man dressed in the uniform of a high-ranking Chinese military official was standing over him. The man smirked slightly as he eyed Jack's limp, battered body. Then, with a cold smile, he spoke. "Welcome, Mr. Bauer. Welcome to Qinghai, China."

Jack's mind reeled. What had the man said? _"Welcome to Qinghai, China." _Jack's eyes widened as he recalled something that he had read not long ago. Falun Dafa, a brutal prison and labor camp, was located in northern China, just a few hours from Qinghai. The camp was notorious for the harsh treatment and horrific torture that it inflicted on its prisoners. It had been equated with the filthy gulags of Saddam Hussein's regime. Jack could only hope that he wasn't going to be placed there...but a tiny voice in the back of his mind told him that that was the most logical option. His heart sank.

Meekly, Jack allowed himself to be yanked roughly to his feet. He lacked the strength to resist, and he knew that it would be a futile attempt. He put up no struggle as he was blindfolded and gagged, and shoved towards a waiting guard. Every muscle and nerve in his body was raw and screaming for mercy, but he made no sound. He would not let these men see his pain. He gritted his teeth and kept walking.

For the first time in years, Jack found himself praying earnestly as he was led away. He had a feeling that only a miracle would lead the CTU teams to him now.

_TBC..._


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

A knock at the door of her office startled Audrey out of her numb, dull stupor. She lifted her head. "Come in." Her tone was flat, listless, and emotionless. The door opened, and Karen Hayes stepped into the room. "What are you doing here?" Audrey asked in surprise. "I thought you'd be back at Division by now."

Karen shook her head as she sank into a chair. "They'll have to make do without me for the foreseeable future. I started a job here—helping you search for Jack—and I'm not leaving until that's finished." She placed a hand on Audrey's shoulder, and waited patiently until the young woman looked up at her. "How are you holding up?" she asked gently. "Can I do anything for you?"

"Just find Jack for me," Audrey said quietly. Her voice cracked. "Please. Just find him and bring him back. That's all I want." Tears brimmed in her eyes, and she fiercely blinked them back. In seconds, however, she gave up the struggle and buried her head in her hands as a wracking sob tore from her throat.

Without thinking twice, Karen sat down next to Audrey and put her arms around the younger woman. Convulsive sobs wracked Audrey's slender frame as Karen sat next to her, offering support in the only way that she could. Her three daughters were grown now, but throughout their childhood she had held them countless times as they sobbed into her shoulder, just as Audrey was doing now. Audrey's tears were leaving a wet patch on the shoulder of Karen's suit jacket, but she couldn't have cared less. She sat silently, holding Audrey tightly, as the young woman wept bitterly.

Audrey's cheeks flamed red, and she abruptly jerked out of Karen's embrace. "Sorry," she muttered, swiping at the stray tears on her cheeks.

Karen shook her head. "Don't be. I have three daughters at home; I'm used to having people cry on my shoulder." She handed Audrey a Kleenex. "Do you feel any better now?" Audrey shrugged as she scrubbed at her face with the tissue that Karen had handed her.

"Audrey, look at me," Karen said quietly. She waited patiently until the young woman turned to face her. "We are doing everything that we possibly can to find Jack. I promise you that," Karen told her. "But...I think I may have found one other thing that might work, if you're willing to try it." A spark of hope sprang to life in Audrey's crystal-blue eyes. Karen smiled as she produced a manila folder and handed it to Audrey. "This is a friend of mine. His name is Jon McCoy." Audrey's brow furrowed quizzically. "He's a military man," Karen continued, seeing that she had piqued Audrey's interest. "He's a former Delta Force member. He served in the US Army during Desert Shield and Desert Storm in 1990 and '91, and served two tours in Operation Iraqi Freedom as well. Currently, he's not active duty. He's at home with his wife and daughter...but, if you asked him, I bet he would be willing to go to China and search for Jack."

Audrey hesitated. "You said he has a family?"

Karen nodded. "Yes, he does. A wife and a four-year-old daughter." She opened the manila folder and showed Audrey a picture of a beautiful dark-haired woman and a grinning little girl. "His wife's name is Erin, and their daughter's name is Morgan." Karen smiled affectionately. "I baby-sit for Morgan quite often. She's a wonderful little girl." She glanced at Audrey. "Would you like to ask Jon to help us?"

Audrey closed her eyes briefly. "Karen, I don't know," she whispered. "You know I want to find Jack. I don't even want to think about what horrible things they're probably doing to him," she added, biting her lip. "But how can I do that? How can I ask Jon to leave his family? What if something happened? His wife would be a widow, and that little girl wouldn't have her daddy, and it would be my fault."

Karen met her gaze. "Jon knew the risks when he enlisted in the army, he knew the risks when he joined Delta Force, and he knows the risks every time he goes out on a mission. He knows there's a chance that he won't come home again. But, Audrey, this man is an amazing patriot. He worries about his family, but he'd leave them in a heartbeat to search for Jack if we asked him to. He constantly puts everyone else ahead of himself...even if that means that he gets killed in the line of duty. It's a risk that comes with the job. He speaks several languages, and he could just as easily get a nice, secure, safe job as a translator, but he chooses to put himself in harm's way to protect others. Just like Jack." She glanced back and forth between Audrey and Jon's folder. "Why don't you think about it for a little while, and then give me your answer?"

Audrey nodded. "All right. And, Karen? Thank you."

Karen smiled sympathetically. "You're very welcome." Whatever else she was going to say was interrupted by the ringing of her cell phone. With a slight frown, Karen fished the phone from her pocket and answered it. "Karen Hayes... Well, hi, Jon! I was just talking about you with someone." Audrey raised her eyebrows and mouthed, _"Him? Jon McCoy?"_ Karen nodded, and then resumed her conversation. "Sit for Morgan? Tonight?" She sighed. "I would love to, but I can't. CTU is swamped right now, and they really need help. Hey, listen, I have a little situation that I need to discuss with you ... Yes, it's about a Delta mission. One of CTU's agents is in a bit of a tight spot, and could really use some help... I knew you'd say that, I knew you'd want to help." (She gave Audrey a look that plainly said, _"What did I tell you?")_ "Actually, I've got someone that I think would like to meet you. She wants to discuss some specifics about the mission. Would you be willing to meet with her? ... Great! When? ... Today? ... No, no, that's not a problem. That will work perfectly. All right, then. I'll see you in about an hour. Thanks, Jon." With that, Karen hung up the phone.

Audrey arched an eyebrow. "What was that about?"

"The Delta mission," Karen replied. "Jack's situation. And you." She glanced at Audrey. "Would you like to meet Jon face-to-face? You could ask him about the mission, and see for yourself what his answer would be."

Audrey nodded. "Yes, I'd like that."

"Well, good," Karen said with a smile. "Because I already arranged it. Jon will meet us in about an hour." She got to her feet, and held out a hand to Audrey. "Let's go have a chat with Jon McCoy, and see what he can do to help Jack out." Audrey needed no further urging. Her eyes lit up, and she eagerly followed Karen out the door.

The drive through downtown Los Angeles was relatively short, but to Audrey it seemed endless. At last, Karen steered her blue Honda Civic into the driveway of a two-story white house with an American flag hanging over the front door. "We're here," she said with a smile. Audrey surveyed their surroundings. The house and the yard were well-kept. The grass was a bright, rich green, and a flowerbed full of brightly colored flowers ran along the length of the sidewalk. Audrey caught sight of a pink rubber ball and a child's tricycle in the grass next to the garage, and smiled slightly. The house and the yard gave every indication that a normal family lived there. Audrey could only hope that Jon McCoy wasn't too "normal" to live up to his reputation and bring Jack home. Taking a deep breath, she followed Karen up the sidewalk to the front door.

They heard the doorbell chime inside the house, and Karen exchanged a smile with Audrey as the sound was accompanied by a child's eager squeal and scurrying footsteps. Locks clicked, and the door swung open to reveal a smiling dark-haired woman in jeans and a t-shirt. In her arms, she held a wriggling little girl with the same dark hair and sparkling green eyes. "Hi, Karen," she said warmly. "Good to see you again. Morgan was _so_ excited when she heard that you were coming to visit." She smiled affectionately at the little girl as she held the door open. "Come on in. Jon's upstairs in his study. He'll be down in a minute."

Karen turned to Audrey. "Erin, this is Audrey Heller, a co-worker of mine. Audrey, this is Erin McCoy, Jon's wife. And this is Morgan, their daughter."

Erin greeted Audrey with a handshake and a warm smile. "Nice to meet you."

Morgan wriggled out of her mother's grasp and ran to Karen. "Are you gonna come and play, Karen?" she demanded. "Huh? Are you?"

"Not today," Karen told her. "My friend and I are here to talk to your daddy about work."

"Can I help you work?" Morgan asked. She held up four fingers. "I'm this many years old. That means I'm a big girl. Daddy said so."

Karen shook her head. "Sorry, kiddo. This is grown-up work. It wouldn't be any fun for you." Morgan's lip poked out in a pout, and Karen ruffled her unruly curls. "I'll come play with you soon, I promise. We have a book that we didn't finish reading the last time I was here. We'll do that really soon, okay?" Morgan nodded, satisfied.

Enchanted by the child, Audrey knelt down to her level. "Hi," she said with a smile. "My name is Audrey. I work with Karen."

"Karen's nice," Morgan said, grinning. "She plays with me. She's a good babysitter. Are you a babysitter?"

"I was, when my brother was little," Audrey told her. "But he's a grown-up now. He doesn't need a babysitter anymore."

Morgan accepted that explanation, and abruptly changed the subject. "What happened to your arm?" she asked curiously. "Why do you have that white thing on it, and why is it all wrapped up?"

Audrey paused, thinking. "I did something very silly," she finally said, deciding it wasn't a good idea to scare the child with talk of burglars and 'bad guys.' "I wasn't watching where I was going, and I fell down the stairs. I hurt my wrist, so now I have to wear this cast and sling on it for a little while."

Morgan giggled. "You're right, that was silly." She gave Audrey a stern look. "Mommy says that it's important to always watch where I'm going on stairs and not run on them. She says I could fall and get hurt, like you did."

Audrey ducked her head to hide a smile. "That's good advice. Your mommy was right."

"Morgan," a man's voice called, "are you being a good girl? You're not bothering our visitors, are you?"

Audrey turned and saw a dark-haired man making his way down the stairs towards them. "No, she's not bothering me," she assured him. She motioned towards her white-plaster-casted right arm. "We were just talking about how it's important to be careful on the steps so you don't fall and get hurt, like I did."

The man descended the last few stairs and came to greet Audrey. "You must be the co-worker that Karen mentioned. I'm Jonathan McCoy; call me Jon. And you are...?"

"Audrey Heller," Audrey told him, holding out a hand for him to shake. Jon returned the handshake with a firm grip. As he did, Audrey got her first look at Jon McCoy. He had thick, slightly unruly dark brown hair, and he was tall, muscled, and well-built. He carried himself with a stance that told Audrey that his military training had been firmly drilled into him. _So far, so good,_ she thought. _I like what I'm seeing here._

"Karen told me that you wanted to discuss a Delta mission with me, correct?" Jon asked.

_He talks like a man in charge,_ Audrey thought. _Excellent. I think I like this guy._ Then she remembered that Jon had asked her a question. "Yes, that's correct," she said hastily.

Jon nodded. "All right, then." He ruffled Morgan's curls. "Sweetheart, Daddy needs to have an important talk with Karen and Ms. Heller. Why don't you go play with your baby doll for a little while?" The child nodded and immediately scurried away up the stairs, pausing to grin over her shoulder at Audrey.

Audrey smiled back, and then turned her attention back to Jon. "You don't have to call me 'Ms. Heller,' " she told him. "Audrey's fine."

Jon nodded. "Audrey it is," he said with a smile. "Now, let's go have a talk about the specifics of this mission. I'll see what I can do to help you out." He led the way up the stairs, with Karen and Audrey following.

As they ascended the stairs, Audrey exchanged glances with Karen. She motioned towards Jon, and gave Karen an emphatic nod and a thumbs-up sign. Karen laughed. "Told you so," she whispered, smiling.

Audrey smiled back as she stepped through the door that Jon held open. As she stepped into the large room that was Jon's study, she silently allowed her gaze to travel over the room's interior. Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves lined the far wall, and a large, sturdy desk sat in the center of the room. The walls were covered in frames filled with prestigious, official-looking medals, awards, and certificates. Audrey's eyes widened slightly as she took in the impressive sight. Jon caught her eye and winked, making her blush. She chuckled slightly as she watched him hastily remove an assortment of dolls and teddy bears from the chairs and floor.

"Morgan likes to play in here," Jon explained somewhat sheepishly. "She knows she's not allowed to touch the things on my desk, but she leaves her toys pretty much everywhere else. This morning, she decided that her dolls and bears were going to have a camp-out under my desk." Audrey and Karen both laughed, and Audrey smiled. From what she had seen, Jon was a man who loved both his country and his family. He was willing to make any sacrifices that the nation demanded, but he also cared deeply for his family and did his best to provide for them. _Excellent._

Jon finally finished gathering up the toys, and dumped them into a plastic box next to his desk. "There," he said with a laugh, pulling out two chairs. "Have a seat." Audrey's ribs were beginning to ache again, and she sank gratefully into the offered chair. Jon sat down behind his desk, and gave Audrey and Karen his full attention. "You told me that you wanted to discuss a Delta mission. What can I do for you?"

Karen produced a thick manila file folder from her bag, and placed it on the desk. "This is Agent Jack Bauer in a nutshell...a rather _large _nutshell," she added wryly. "He's one of CTU's top agents, and he's a very valuable asset. His methods are sometimes seen as...harsh and unethical, for lack of a better term...but he's one of the best. Because of his work, however, he has made quite a few enemies. He was recently kidnapped by a man named Cheng Zhi, and we believe that he is being held captive somewhere in China."

Jon flipped through a few pages of the large file. "What does this Zhi guy want with Agent Bauer?"

"That's a long story," Audrey said dryly. "Eighteen months ago, Jack uncovered evidence that indicated that someone at the Chinese consulate was linked to Habib Marwan and his operations. The Chinese government refused to hand the man over, so Jack took matters into his own hands and conducted an unauthorized covert raid against the consulate. In the process, the Chinese consul was killed by friendly fire, from his own men. The Chinese government insisted that Jack was the one responsible, and ordered that he either be taken into custody or executed. He was forced to fake his death and go into hiding for the past eighteen months. David Palmer's assassination, as well as the other...events...of the past few days brought him out of hiding, and word somehow got to the Chinese that he was alive. They set up a plot, intending to kidnap him." She held up her casted arm, and motioned towards the bulky wrap under her shirt that was bracing her cracked ribs. "Jack thwarted their attempts, so they broke into our house that night, shot me with a massive tranquilizer dart, and kidnapped Jack."

Jon arched his eyebrows. "Wow," he said simply, shaking his head. "That's some story. So, let me guess what this is all about. Karen bragged to you about my military accomplishments, and you want to recruit me to go to China and bring Jack home."

Audrey nodded. "Yes, that's it exactly." She leaned forward in her chair. "Will you do it?"

"Something tells me that you and Karen would never speak to me again if I said no," Jon remarked.

Audrey's eyes lit up. "So you'll do it? You'll find Jack?"

"I didn't say that," Jon told her. "I'm not sure. There are a lot of things that need to be taken into consideration here. Language barriers, for one thing — "

"Don't even try that one," Karen spoke up. "I happen to know that you speak several Chinese dialects, as well as Spanish, Arabic, Russian, and passable German."

Jon nodded. "Okay, you got me there," he said with a wry smile. "So, foreign languages probably won't be an issue here... but there are a lot of other considerable risks. The Chinese government is going to want to hang on to Jack, so they won't be inclined to let me and my Delta team into the country. It would have to be a covert operation, and those always come with a whole boatload of risks. Plus, I'm not officially considered to be an active Delta Force member. I would have to go through all the legal channels to be able to get permission from our government, and I would have to pick out a team to go with me. There are no guarantees. The whole process could take a pretty good-sized amount of time."

"Jack doesn't _have_ much time," Audrey shot back fiercely. She lifted her head and looked Jon in the eye. He was taken back by the strength and determination that he saw in her unflinching gaze. "Mr. — Excuse me, I meant 'colonel'— _Colonel_ McCoy, have you ever heard of Falun Dafa?"

"Call me Jon," he told her. "And, yes, I've heard of Falun Dafa. It's a Chinese gulag. Not a nice place at all."

"Exactly," Audrey snapped. She paused, trying to rein in her emotions. When she spoke again, her tone was considerably calmer. "That's it exactly. Jack Bauer is an amazing patriot. He's sacrificed almost everything for his country, and received almost no thanks in return. Now, on top of everything else, the government seems to be inclined to just let him die in China. You know that Falun Dafa is a hellhole. Jack doesn't deserve that kind of treatment. No one does. That is why I'm asking you to help us find him and bring him home where he belongs."

_Damn, this little lady really knows how to play a guilt trip,_ Jon thought. He ran a hand through his hair. "I must say, I admire your stubbornness, Audrey," he said wryly. "You don't give up easily." He sighed. "All right. You've convinced me."

Fresh hope lit up Audrey's crystal-blue eyes. "You'll do it?" she asked breathlessly. "You'll go to China?"

Jon nodded. "I will. Against my better judgment, I'll go. You've convinced me. You understand that there are no guarantees," he added firmly, "but I give you my word that I will try my best. That's a soldier's promise."

Hardly realizing what she was doing, Audrey leaped from her chair and hugged Jon tightly. "Thank you," she gasped. "Thank you so much!"

Laughing, he returned the hug. "You're very welcome." Jon stepped back and regarded Audrey. "Does Jack Bauer know just how lucky he is?" he asked seriously. "He's a very lucky guy, to have someone like you fighting on his side."

Audrey smiled. "Thank you very much."

"You're welcome," Jon told her, smiling back. He took her hand in his, and shook it firmly. "I'll get to work, and call you in a few days to let you know what the arrangements are."

"Thank you," Audrey told him earnestly. Her eyes shone with tears. "I appreciate it more than you know."

Jon nodded solemnly. "You're very welcome." He helped Audrey slip into her coat and button it. "There you go. I'll walk you to the door."

As they descended the stairs and approached the foyer, there was a scurrying of feet above them. Audrey glanced up to see little Morgan peering down at them between the banister railings. "Bye, Karen," she called cheerfully. "Bye, Audrey!"

"Goodbye, Morgan," Audrey called back, smiling. She waved to the child, and then followed Karen out the front door.

For the first time in days, Audrey was smiling. As she walked down the driveway towards Karen's blue Honda Civic, she threw her head back and laughed with pure, unrestrained joy. For the first time since this whole ordeal had begun, she felt truly hopeful that Jack just might come home after all.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

**Qinghai, China**

Jack sighed heavily as he rolled over onto his back, biting his lips hard to suppress a pained grunt. This position was no more comfortable than the last, and he huffed in frustration. He shifted slightly, wincing as the small movement made his battered ribs shriek in pain.

Every muscle and nerve in his body, from his head down to his toes, was on fire and burning with pain. After they had unloaded him from the ship, he had been tossed into the bed of an ancient, rattletrap truck. The old, falling-apart vehicle had creaked and grumbled its way through the narrow mountain roads for what felt like an eternity, bouncing over canyon-sized ruts and potholes as it went. The constant jolting and bouncing had made sleeping impossible, as Jack's injured body shrieked a painful protest to every teeth-rattling bump and jostle. Finally, to his relief, the torturous journey had come to an end, and he had been dumped into a tiny shoebox of a cell.

Exhausted and in pain from the long journey, he had crawled into a dark corner of the tiny cell and fallen into a fitful sleep. He had woken some time later, with his head reeling, and had immediately vomited from dehydration, lack of food, and pain. The guards, who had left him unattended until then, had advanced and made him pay for his crime.

Grimly, Jack took a mental inventory of his injuries. His stomach and back were covered in dark bruises and bleeding gashes. The gunshot wound in his right thigh was throbbing painfully. He knew that the leg was broken, and he could feel that there was something wrong with that knee as well. As far as he could tell, his left leg wasn't broken, but it was swollen and bruised. Several of the bones in his right wrist and arm were broken, and the limb was swollen almost beyond recognition. His left arm was his only undamaged limb. Bitterly, Jack wondered how long the arm would remain uninjured and still usable. Probably not long.

The only light in the tiny cement-block cell came from a single bare bulb that hung from a few frayed wires in the ceiling. The dim light was barely enough to make out shapes, and Jack's head throbbed from the strain of trying to see in the near-darkness. It didn't matter. He knew that there was probably nothing to see anyway.

A horrible screeching sound accosted Jack's senses, and he moaned as the shrill sound sent waves of pain coursing through his already-aching head. Gradually, he realized that the sound came from the ancient metal door of his cell. The rusty door was being forced open, grating loudly against the rough, cracked concrete floor as it went. Finally, the screeching ceased as the door opened fully. The harsh sound was replaced by clicking footsteps as a man stepped into the small cell.

Jack's left eye was bruised and swollen shut, leaving him with only one eye to see out of. He opened his good right eye and surveyed the person that had entered his cell. The man standing over him was tall and slender, and was dressed in camouflage military fatigues. His impassive face was blank and unreadable as he squatted down to Jack's level. "Ah, Mr. Bauer, you are awake," he said quietly. His gaze traveled over the bleeding wounds that peeked out from under the coarse black prison uniform that Jack was dressed in. "I apologize for that harsh welcome that you received from our guards earlier, but..." He motioned to the sticky mess in the corner of the cell: the remains of the contents of Jack's stomach. "They work hard to keep these cells clean, and they do not appreciate messes." (_Right,_ Jack thought scornfully. The cold, damp cell was absolutely filthy. Cobwebs stretched across the corners of the walls, and many of the concrete bricks were covered with dust and mold. The cement floor was cracked, jagged, and uneven, and it was wet and covered in mildew. The backs of Jack's shirt and pants were already soaked through with stagnant, foul-smelling water, and he shivered miserably in the cold air.)

"I do not believe that we have had the pleasure of being formally introduced," the man continued. "I know your name; it is only fair that you know mine. I am called Aiguo." He eyed Jack. "How long has it been since you've eaten?"

Jack shrugged. "I don't know," he croaked hoarsely, licking his chapped, cracked lips. "I can't remember."

"Ah." Aiguo turned towards the door of the cell and called out something in a foreign tongue. After a moment, two objects were thrust into his hands. With a nod, he placed them within Jack's reach. "Food and water are precious commodities, Mr. Bauer. Be wise when taking part in them." Satisfied that his work was complete, he turned on his heel and left the cell. The door screeched closed, and then there was only silence.

Slowly, painstakingly, Jack propped himself up on his good arm and reached out to inspect the items that Aiguo had left. He was delighted to find a small canteen of water and a cloth bag containing three miniscule loaves of bread. The bread was dry, crumbly, and stale, but Jack didn't care. He picked up one of the loaves and took a bite. The bread was moldy, and had the consistency of sawdust, but he forced himself to chew and swallow.

Aiguo's words rang in Jack's head, and he frowned. From what the man had said, Jack had a suspicion that they wouldn't be feeding him often. If that was the case, then he needed to make this small quantity of food last as long as possible. He took one last bite, and then replaced the tiny loaves in their cloth bag. His throat was dry and scratchy, and Jack was desperate for water. As much as he longed to gulp down the entire contents of the small canteen, he knew he couldn't. He resigned himself to three small swallows. The amount was barely enough to wet his tongue, much less quench his thirst, but it would have to suffice. Jack replaced the cap on the canteen, sat it and the bread bag aside, and lay down on the hard cement floor again.

Ignoring his pain, he closed his eyes and drifted off into a fitful sleep.

**-o-o-o-o-**

**Los Angeles, California**

Neil McAllister frowned slightly as he paged through the thick manila file folder that Jon McCoy had handed him. "Agent Jack Bauer," he said aloud. "Huh. Who is this guy?"

"Someone that you're going to help me rescue from a Chinese gulag," Jon replied.

Neil glanced up sharply, and his brown plastic glasses slid down the bridge of his nose. With a practiced jab of his finger, he shoved them back into place. _"What?"_

"You heard me," Jon told him. "I explained it all in my email. Bauer's an agent for CTU LA. He's a valuable asset, but he's made some serious enemies. Now he's gotten himself kidnapped by one of said enemies, and whisked off to China. They have reason to believe that he's being held in Falun Dafa."

Neil winced. "Ouch."

Jon nodded. "Yeah. Needless to say, his friends aren't too pleased. His girlfriend came to me a few days ago. She'd heard about my military background, and she apparently liked what she heard. She very politely but very firmly requested that I go to China, find Jack Bauer, and get him out of there." A slight smile played on his lips. "And did I mention that said girlfriend just so happens to be Audrey Heller?"

"Audrey Heller, as in the daughter of our nation's Secretary of Defense?" Neil demanded incredulously.

Jon nodded. "That's the one. Apparently, Jack worked closely with Secretary Heller for a few years, and they've got a tight relationship. So, if Heller and his daughter tell me to go to China and hunt for Jack, then I go. Kind of hard to refuse. Refusing a mission that was assigned to you by the SecDef doesn't make you look too good."

Neil shook his head. "No. It really doesn't." He eyed Jon. "So where do I come into all of this?"

Jon met his gaze. "You're one of the best, Neil. I'm working on putting an ops team together, and I want you on it."

Neil ran a hand through his graying hair. "I appreciate the flattery, but you and I both know that I'm getting too old for this. I'll accompany you to Beijing, but no further than that. After Beijing, you'll have to do the work. I'll be back here, coordinating the US side of things. I'll help you arrange transport, call in SWAT teams, whatever. But I'll be helping you from the other side of the Atlantic. Deal?"

Jon nodded. "Fair enough."

Neil shook his head. "Conlon's gonna kick my butt for this, you know that?"

Jon smiled at the memory of his surly Delta Force commander. "You and me both. But, hey, it's easier to ask forgiveness than permission." Neil nodded, chuckling. Jon got to his feet, and came around the desk to shake Neil's hand. "Thank you."

Neil nodded curtly. "You're welcome. I'll do what I can to help you out." He met Jon's gaze. "Good luck."

Jon bid him goodbye, picked up the file folder and his jacket, and left Neil's office. An image of Jack's face, haunted and pained, flickered in his mind. It was immediately followed by that of Audrey Heller, with her tear-stained, forlorn, lost expression.

"Hang in there," Jon whispered. "The cavalry's coming to you. You just hang on."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

**TWO WEEKS LATER**

**Qinghai, China**

Jack was startled out of a fitful sleep by a combat boot poking him in the side. He woke instantly, hissing sharply at the stab of pain that shot through his side. With a grimace, he pulled himself up to a semi-sitting position, propping the weight of his upper body on his one uninjured arm. "So sorry to wake you," Aiguo told him with a sardonic smile. "Did you sleep well?" The glare that Jack gave him could have melted ice in the Arctic. "Temper, temper," Aiguo mocked, clicking his tongue. Jack's glare intensified. Aiguo's smirk disappeared, and was quickly replaced by a glare that matched Jack's. Without a word, he lifted his hand and slapped Jack hard across the face, knocking him off-balance and sending him crashing back down to the concrete floor, where he landed with a grunt.

Aiguo stared at him coldly. "Perhaps you will mind your temper in the future." Roughly, unceremoniously, he hauled Jack to his feet and shoved him towards a guard that had entered the tiny cell. "Cheng Zhi wishes to speak with you, regarding a few...personal matters."

Jack bowed his head and allowed the guard to blindfold him, and stood silently as his hands were tied loosely behind his back. "Let's go," the man ordered. He strode out the door, half-leading and half-dragging Jack behind him. The man's strides were long and brisk, and Jack desperately tried to keep his balance as he staggered blindly along behind the man.

He was surprised to feel an icy wind biting through his thin, inadequate prison uniform, as well as the crunch of snow and ice under his feet. Cheng Zhi had been right. Northern China had an extremely harsh, cold climate. Jack ducked his head against the bitter wind, and kept walking.

Remarkably, the miniscule ration of dry bread that he occasionally received actually seemed to be doing some good. It wasn't much, but it was food. The small bit of food, combined with the fitful snatches of sleep that he got each night, seemed to be making a small difference. Although he was still weak, Jack felt a small bit of his strength beginning to return. Once he gained enough strength and recovered from his injuries, he vowed that he would escape from this living hell. It was only a matter of waiting for the right moment.

Unbelievably, such a "right moment" came only minutes later. Cheng Zhi, believing that Jack was too weak and malnourished to pull any stunts, had sent only one guard to escort him. Innocently, the inexperienced guard released his hold on Jack's arm and knelt to re-tie his boot.

Jack seized the opportunity. The ropes binding his hands were tied loosely, with poor knots. He twisted and fidgeted until the knots loosened, and dropped the now-useless bindings into the snow. Working more quickly now that his hands were free, he clawed at the black blindfold covering his eyes until it, too, fell away. Jack blinked in the bright sunlight.

Hearing a scuffling sound as Jack shifted slightly, the guard straightened and looked up from his boot. Jack didn't give him the opportunity to look further. Acting on instinct, he brought his uninjured arm up and caught the man full in the face. The guard staggered backwards, stunned. Without giving him the opportunity to recover, Jack aimed a second blow at the back of the man's knee, followed by another to the head. The slender man collapsed, landing unconscious in the snow.

Jack spun on his heel and bolted, sprinting towards the dense woods at the edge of the camp. He scarcely felt the throbbing pain in his side and injured leg as he half-limped and half-ran across the open expanse between the prison compound and the tree line, desperately running for cover. His injured body was moving almost entirely on adrenaline instead of strength, but for now it was good enough. Jack increased his pace. _Almost there..._

A heavy boot jabbed him sharply in the back of the knee, and his leg reflexively buckled. Jack stumbled and fell, tumbling head-over-heels into the snow. Panting, he lifted his head... and found himself staring straight into Cheng Zhi's face. _Damn._

The Chinese man's eyes glinted like black steel, smoldering with barely-contained anger. Without a word, he yanked Jack to his feet and roughly propelled him forward. Instead of going towards the cell blocks in the prisoners' compound, however, he strode towards a tiny building made of crumbling cement. Jack realized that he was being placed in solitary confinement.

Still silent, Cheng opened the rusty door of the small structure. Jack caught a split-second glimpse of a dark, cavern-like space before he was shoved through the door. His foot caught on an uneven, jagged chunk of concrete, and he stumbled. With nothing to help him regain his balance, he fell heavily to the floor with an audible thump. The air rushed from his lungs with a whoosh, and his injured body screamed a painful protest.

The only light in the room came from the sunlight filtering through the open door, and the small cell was plunged into total darkness as the door slammed closed. The bolt on the door slid into place, and then there was only complete darkness and utter silence.

Jack had no idea what—or who—might be sharing the dark cave with him. "Hello?" he whispered hesitantly. He wasn't surprised when his quiet call went unanswered. He was completely alone... and cold. There were miniscule cracks in almost all of the cement bricks—not enough to let in light, but enough to send icy, harsh wind blasting into the tiny cell. Jack's thin, tattered prison uniform was hardly adequate, and he shivered violently in the bitter cold.

Cold, stiff, and aching, he curled up into a miserable ball and fell into a fitful sleep.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

**Qinghai, China**

Jack rolled onto his back, biting his lips hard to suppress a pained cry. His attempted escape had earned him the most severe beating yet. Every cell and nerve in his body was raw and screaming with pain.

A heavy combat boot jabbed him harshly in the stomach, and Jack yelped in pain as he reflexively curled into a ball. "Well, well. It seems that Mr. Bauer managed to crawl all of two feet since we left him," a sardonic voice remarked. Grimly, Jack opened his one good eye and glanced up. Aiguo was standing over him, accompanied by a tall, muscled man that Jack hadn't seen before. The man held a small lantern, and it emitted a weak light that was just barely enough to see by in the tiny cell. Both men wore heavy coats that Jack stared at enviously.

Aiguo made a face as he noticed a puddle of crimson blood pooling beneath Jack's limp form. "Cheng Zhi wouldn't like to see you like this," he said curtly. "Let's clean up your wounds a bit, hmm?" He motioned to the second man. "Tao, get over here and hold him." The burly, bear-like man did as asked, holding Jack firmly in his grip as Aiguo reached into a small first-aid kit and withdrew a handful of gauze and a bottle of rubbing alcohol.

Jack hissed sharply as the alcohol seeped into the gashes that covered his body. The liquid burned like fire, and Aiguo's rough treatment only added to the pain. He seemed determined to inflict as much pain as possible. Jack howled in pain, and his fingernails scrabbled wildly against the concrete floor as he struggled to gain a handhold and escape from Tao's iron grip.

Aiguo replaced the cap on the bottle of alcohol, and carelessly slapped gauze and tape over Jack's wounds, not bothering to take care with the work. He nodded to Tao. The bear-like man released Jack and picked up his lantern. The two men left the cell without a word, and the door slammed behind them.

Jack retreated into the farthest corner of the tiny cell, panting and whimpering in pain. He relaxed as the fiery, burning pain slowly subsided. Trembling, he sank down to the floor, where he once again sank into a fitful sleep.

-o-o-o-o-

When Jack woke again, he blinked in confusion. The floor beneath him was still hard concrete, but he was staring at a blank white wall. The room was lit by two bare bulbs hanging from the ceiling, one of which had burned out. This wasn't his cell. Where was he?

A slender man in a white coat entered the room, and met Jack's gaze with an unreadable expression. "Up," he said curtly. "Feet. Stand."

Jack shook his head. "I can't," he replied, speaking in slow, clear English. He motioned to his injured right leg. "I can't stand... my leg..." He could put some weight on his uninjured left leg, but it was still bruised and painful. The right leg, however, was by far the worst. The slightest touch sent waves of pain coursing through his body.

The doctor looked where Jack was pointing, and drew in a sharp breath as he caught sight of Jack's injured leg. "Okay, okay," he said hastily. "Stay. Stay down." He knelt down next to Jack, and placed a hand on his arm. "I name Ling," he said quietly in broken English. "I no hurt. Doctor. You need help."

_Got that right, _Jack thought bitterly. _I need all the help I can get. _His brow furrowed as he realized what the man had said. _A doctor? What...?_ What was with these people? One minute they were beating him senseless, and the next minute they were sending doctors to treat him. Jack just shook his head. _I'm not complaining. I'll take what I can get._ He looked at Ling and nodded. "Thank you," he said slowly in English. "I need your help."

Ling turned towards the door and called out something in Mandarin Chinese. Instantly, a second man appeared with a stretcher in tow. Though the movement made his battered body shriek in pain, Jack gritted his teeth and remained silent as the two men carefully lifted him from the floor and placed him on the stretcher. The rickety object looked as though it was left over from World War I, but Jack didn't care. He sank gratefully onto the musty canvas and allowed the two men to work.

Working as carefully as possible, Ling and his assistant set and splinted Jack's injured arm and leg, placed an IV line in his injured arm, and set to work cleaning his wounds. For the first time in a long time, Jack felt like a human instead of a filthy pile of rags and grime. He relaxed as the two medical workers gently bathed his wounds with warm water, wiping away layers of grime and dried blood. As the men worked, Jack drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

**-o-o-o-o-**

**Beijing**

"Thank you for choosing Neil's Taxi Service," Neil McAllister quipped. "Welcome to Beijing. This is the end of the line. Everybody out. _Now."_

"Yeah, we love you, too," Jon McCoy said wryly as he unfolded his lanky frame from the passenger seat of Neil's van. The other members of the team spilled out of the van after him, stretching and sighing.

"Please collect your gear and exit the premises," Neil continued, smiling slightly now. "The driver has pressing matters that require him to leave the area immediately."

"_What _pressing matters?" Leah Wang asked with a laugh. "The only thing that I can think of is a drive back to Shanghai and a fourteen-hour flight back to LA. I can't see why you're in any hurry." She tugged her knapsack out of the pile of cargo, and slung the bag over her shoulder.

Neil shook his head, laughing as well. Then he sobered, and glanced at each of them in turn. "Be _careful, _please," he said seriously. "I mean it. I'll be helping to coordinate the US side of things, but I can only do so much. Don't do anything stupid."

"We'll be careful," Jon assured him. "We know what we're doing." He shook Neil's hand. "Thanks for the chauffeur service. I'll keep in touch, and let you know as soon as we have anything to report."

Neil nodded. "Best wishes," he said sincerely. "Good luck to you, and to Agent Bauer as well." With that, he started the engine and pulled away from the curb. The van merged into the flood of traffic, and disappeared into the crowded streets of downtown Beijing.

Jon shouldered his duffel bag. "Grab your gear, and let's go. I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted. The sooner we sleep off the jet lag, the sooner we'll be able to get to work." The rest of the Delta team members collected their gear and followed him into the small hotel in front of them. This would be home for however long it took to find Jack and bring him home.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

**Los Angeles, California**

A bloodcurdling shriek shattered the early-morning stillness, and James Heller sat bolt upright in bed. (He had been released from the hospital that afternoon, and Audrey had firmly insisted that he was going to stay with her until he was fully healed. She hadn't left room for any argument whatsoever as she packed a suitcase for him and made up the bed in her spare bedroom.) The shrill scream had come from down the hallway, and Heller knew immediately that it was Audrey. Groping in the darkness, he found the cane that his doctor had given him. With effort, he got to his feet and made his way down the hallway.

Whatever horrible demons that haunted Audrey's dreams seemed to have her fully in their grasp tonight. She was clawing wildly at empty air, as pitiful whimpers and cries tore from her throat. Heller flinched as another terrified scream echoed in the room. _"Jack!"_ Audrey was weeping now. "No," she cried. "No, no... _Stop it!_ Stop hurting him! Please..." Tears streamed freely down her cheeks, wetting her pillow and the shoulder of her nightgown.

Heller hurried over to the bed and shook his daughter awake. "Audrey," he said softly. "Audie, wake up. It's all right, sweetheart. You're dreaming. Wake up."

Audrey's eyes flew open, and she sat bolt upright. She struggled wildly against her father's embrace for a few seconds, and then seemed to snap out of a trance. Wide awake now, she clutched at her father's hand. "Oh, God," she gasped. "Jack..."

James Heller gently stroked his daughter's hair, running his fingers through it as though Audrey were a small child. "Hush," he murmured. "It's all right, Audie. It was a dream. Jack's fine."

"No, he's not," Audrey whispered hoarsely. "You know he's not." She was trembling violently. "That dream... oh, God, Dad! It was awful!" Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks. "I don't even want to think about what they're doing to him," she sobbed. "I just want him to come home."

Heller pulled his daughter into a tight hug. "I know, Audie. I know." He met Audrey's gaze. "Jon McCoy and his team are doing everything they can to find Jack. They'll find him, Audrey. He'll be all right. You have to believe that. Everything will be all right." He used his thumb to gently wipe away the tears on his daughter's cheeks. "I think this calls for some hot chocolate. I saw some hot chocolate mix in your pantry earlier. Want some?" Audrey nodded, laughing slightly through her tears. "All right, then. Lead the way to the kitchen." Heller picked up his cane and limped down the hallway after his daughter.

In the kitchen, Audrey busied herself with finding the packets of Swiss Miss instant hot chocolate, and pulling mugs from the cabinet. In minutes, she handed her father a steaming mug of hot chocolate, and sat down across from him at the table. "Marshmallow?" she offered, holding out a bag of miniature marshmallows. Heller accepted a few of the tiny marshmallows, and stirred them into his mug.

Audrey and her father were silent as they sat together, sipping their mugs of cocoa. They sat silently, side-by-side, each lost in their own thoughts. Above them, the night stars twinkled brightly in the sky. Audrey glanced up at them and wished with all her heart; hoping that maybe, just maybe, her wish would be heard. Watching the tiny twinkling lights, she prayed desperately that Jack would come home again.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

**THREE WEEKS LATER**

The days had fallen into a grim, predictable routine for Jack. Every few days, he would be taken from his tiny room in the camp infirmary, and shackled to a chair in an interrogation room. Always, the question was the same: _"Surely you are growing weary of such treatment, Mr. Bauer. It does not have to be this way. Just give us your answer. All we need is a name. Who sanctioned the raid on our consulate? Who gave you permission to act as you did?" _Occasionally, they would try to get other information from him, about CTU or Charles Logan, but he never answered. His interrogators had short tempers and very little patience, and his steadfast silence and refusal to answer angered them. Handcuffed and shackled to a pole, there was no way for Jack to escape their anger. They would beat him until he slipped into unconsciousness. When he woke, he would be in a filthy shower stall in the infirmary, with icy cold water pouring over his injured body. Ling and his aides would take Jack back to his tiny closet of a room and treat his wounds. He would remain in the infirmary for a few days, until his wounds healed somewhat and he regained some strength. Then the process would begin all over again.

Ling and his aides took it upon themselves to ensure that Jack felt no pain, as though trying to erase the memories of what his tormentors had done. The only problem was that they accomplished this by giving him megadoses of sedatives and analgesics. The powerful drugs made Jack sleep heavily for hours on end. He didn't bother to worry about what effects the drugs might have on his body; by now, he was beyond caring. He welcomed the hours of darkness. When he slept, there was no pain.

Jack groaned as he slowly came to, in the shower stall as usual. Grimly, he took inventory of his injuries. The skin on his body was covered in dark bruises, and was torn and bleeding heavily in many places. Jack knew that he had lost quite a bit of blood, but he was still conscious. That was a good sign, but at the moment he was in too much pain to care. His left eye was bruised and swollen shut, and blood dripped into his right eye from a deep gash above his eyebrow. His right leg, which had just begun to heal, had been broken again. The leg was swollen almost beyond recognition, and his injured knee was throbbing painfully. The gunshot wound in his right thigh still hadn't healed, and Jack was concerned to see that the area around the wound was red, swollen, and warm to the touch. He wasn't a doctor, but no one had to tell him that the wound was becoming infected. His left leg wasn't broken (_at least, not yet, _he thought bitterly), but it was heavily bruised.

Jack tilted his head back and closed his eyes against the shower spray as he allowed icy cold water to trickle into his open mouth. Though he was shivering in the cold spray, the water felt like heaven as it soothed his chapped lips and parched throat. He angled his head, swallowing greedily as the water trickled into his mouth.

When he opened his eyes again, Ling was bent over him. Without a word, the doctor hoisted Jack onto a rickety stretcher and took him back to his room. He felt the cool brush of alcohol on his shoulder, followed seconds later by the sharp, brief prick of a needle. Almost instantly, a heavy, weighted feeling began to spread through Jack's body. The sounds around him faded into silence as he was dragged into the dark depths of a heavy, drugged sleep once again.

**-o-o-o-o-**

**Beijing**

Jon McCoy was awakened from a blissful sleep by a loud, insistent knocking at the door of his hotel room. With a frustrated groan, he threw back his covers and dragged himself out of bed. The three other agents sharing the room with him stirred sleepily and poked their heads out from under their bedcovers. Seeing that Jon was answering the door, they immediately lay back down and went back to sleep.

"You ever hear of a clock, Mark Reese?" Jon demanded irritably as he opened the door. "It's three o'clock in the morning, and some of us are trying to sleep."

"Morning," Mark said dryly, thrusting a mug of strong coffee into Jon's hand.

"You gotta do better than that if you're going to wake me up at this hour," Jon told him with a tired laugh. "What do you want?"

"Take a look at these little gems that I just got from two of our contacts," Mark replied, holding out a piece of paper. "One of them says that he saw a man that matches Jack Bauer's description being unloaded from the cargo freighter _Enlai _a few weeks ago. The other one says that he and his men ran into a guy at one of the local bars last night. Once the guy had enough spirits in him—and by that I mean the alcoholic kind, not the Halloween ghost kind—he was more than happy to talk. His name is Aiguo Yang, and he's a prison guard at Falun Dafa. It seems that Cheng Zhi is paying him a nice chunk of money to 'care for' a certain prisoner. Supposedly, this prisoner is an American that Cheng's got a grudge against because of crimes against China. I don't know about you, but I think that that American prisoner sounds a whole lot like Jack Bauer."

Jon's heart leaped. "It's possible. Did Aiguo mention anything about the prisoner's condition? Is he hurt?"

"From what Aiguo said, he's been roughed up pretty badly," Mark said grimly. "They're letting the camp doctors care for him, but he's still in pretty bad shape." If the man was indeed Jack, Jon's team would need to act fast. Northern China had an extremely harsh, cold climate. The bitter cold, combined with the harsh treatment that Falun Dafa was known for, would wear Jack down quickly. If he wasn't found soon, it could be too late to help him. Jon could only pray that it wasn't _already_ too late.

He set down his coffee mug. "All right. I'll wake up my people; you get yours. Meet back here in ten minutes. We've got a mission to plan."

**-o-o-o-o-**

**Qinghai**

When Jack woke again, he was back in his room in the infirmary, lying on a thin mattress on a hard metal bed frame. The burned-out second lightbulb had been replaced, and Jack winced at the intensity of the light. The only sound came from someone moaning in pain in a nearby room. Other than that, the small infirmary was silent.

Jack shifted in the bed, wincing as a sharp pain shot through his wrists. He craned his neck, and saw that his hands were cuffed to the bed railings. The metal handcuffs were too tight, and they bit into his already-sore wrists. Jack shook his head. He was injured, in pain, and heavily drugged. Where did they think he was going to go? _Out,_ his mind answered. _Somewhere. Anywhere away from this hellhole. _

Nearly blinded from the too-bright lightbulbs above his head, Jack closed his eyes. One thing was clear. He was too weak to survive much longer in these conditions. He either had to give in, escape, or die.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

**FOUR DAYS LATER**

Someone was unlocking the door. As the metal door screeched open, Jack prayed that it was a doctor and not Cheng Zhi. Relief flooded through him as a man in a white coat entered the room, pushing a rattling metal cart. Jack caught a split-second glimpse of a guard standing in the hallway with a Kalashnikov rifle before the door closed. As the doctor pushed his rattling cart across the floor, a plan began to form and take hold in Jack's mind.

He heard the doctor fumbling for the correct vial of medication, followed by the sound of tearing paper as the man unwrapped a hypodermic syringe. He was preparing the dose of heavy narcotics that would once again plunge Jack into a deep and dreamless sleep. Jack knew that he would have to act quickly. As though just waking, he opened his eyes again and began to stir.

"You live," the doctor said flatly, sounding surprised. (Jack caught a glimpse of the man's ID badge: _Dr. M. Liu.)_

"I need to use the toilet," Jack told him. "Can you uncuff me, please?"

Dr. Liu nodded. _"Hao_ (okay), but quickly," he said curtly. "I am running late as it is." Jack closed his eyes again, as if to gather his strength for the short walk across the room to the tiny bathroom, and waited as the doctor unlocked the too-tight handcuffs that bound him to the bed. Then Jack made his move.

He lunged up off of the bed, grabbing the lanyard that hung around the doctor's neck with his good hand and jerking the man's head forward. He fumbled for the syringe on the cart, grasped it, and jabbed the doctor in the shoulder. The stunned man struggled briefly, but fell limp across the bed in seconds.

Moving as quickly as his injured body would allow, Jack scrambled out of the bed and positioned the unconscious doctor under the covers, giving him a second dose of sedatives to ensure that there would be no surprises.

The doorknob rattled. "You done in there?" the guard called impatiently.

Jack would be forever grateful to Melissa Raab, CTU's Mandarin Chinese interpreter, for taking it upon herself to teach him a few phrases. "Yes, I'm finished," he called back in Mandarin, approximating Liu's voice as best he could. "Let me out."

Keys jangled in the lock, and the door began to open. Jack didn't wait. Summoning all of his strength, he pulled the door open and charged full-speed at the man on the other side. The guard never knew what hit him as Jack stabbed him in the shoulder with another syringe. He was unconscious before he hit the floor.

Hastily, Jack dressed the unconscious guard in his black prisoners' shirt and pants, and donned the man's uniform. In moments, the man was lying in an unceremonious heap on the floor next to the bed, with one wrist handcuffed to the railing. Jack rifled through the pockets of the guard's uniform, and was pleased to find a Beretta 9mm pistol and a radio. He picked up the guard's discarded AK-47 and stepped into the hallway, locking the door behind him.

Jack made his way down the deserted corridor and out the door. The hat and scarf that he had taken from the guard served a dual purpose: they hid his face from view, and they shielded him from the bitter wind as he crossed the snow-covered ground and headed for the trees bordering the camp.

He slipped unnoticed into the woods.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

**Beijing, China**

"All right, team, listen up." Jon McCoy surveyed the group of Delta Force members gathered in the small hotel room with him. Nearly all of them held mugs of coffee, but they were all awake. "I apologize for the early wake-up call, but it seems that we've got a mission to plan." Ears perked, and everyone seemed to wake up a bit more. Quickly, Jon laid out the information that Mark had given him earlier. "There you have it," he finished. "I've gotten in touch with one of our contacts, and we'll be leaving to meet him shortly. We'll meet at his rendezvous point, and he'll drive us into the mountains to Qinghai. So wake up, get dressed, pack your gear, and get some food in your stomachs. We've got work to do."

-o-o-o-o-

Two hours later, the teams were gathered in a small, nondescript cottage, sitting around a table in a cramped kitchen. Maps and papers were spread across the table, and olive-green knapsacks were scattered across the floor.

Jon peered out the window. "All right. Our chariots have arrived. Let's get moving." There was a flurry of activity as the agents collected maps, radios, knapsacks, and weapons. "Hope you brought warm clothes," Jon added as they filed out the door. "It's a lovely ten degrees below zero in the mountains right now."

The agents tossed their gear into the three trucks that were waiting for them, and took seats. When everyone was settled, they pulled away from the tiny cottage and began the two-hour drive north to Qinghai.

**-o-o-o-o-**

**Qinghai **

Jack grabbed hold of a tree branch to keep his balance as he waded through the deep snow. He was miserably cold, and his injured body ached. The gunshot wound in his thigh was red, swollen, and hot to the touch, and was oozing whitish-yellow pus. No one had to tell Jack that the nasty wound was infected. He prayed that he would be able to find someone that would take him to a hospital to be treated.

He grunted in pain as he lost his footing in the powdery snow, sending a stab of pain through his injured leg. With effort, he righted himself and kept walking. Every muscle in his aching body was screaming for relief, but Jack didn't dare stop to rest. He was exhausted, and he knew that he would fall asleep if he sat down. If that happened, he knew that he would freeze to death. He was too weak to last long in this bitter cold. He gritted his teeth and kept walking.

Suddenly, Jack was hot and cold all over. His vision blurred, and the trees before him swam and spun nauseatingly. The ground beneath him seemed to sway and lurch violently, and he lost his balance. He grabbed wildly for a handhold, but there was none.

With nothing to hold him, he collapsed and tumbled into the snow. Black dots danced in his field of vision, growing ever larger. Everything around him faded into darkness as he sank into unconsciousness.

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	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

**FALUN DAFA PRISON CAMP**

Jon shivered as a gust of icy wind blasted through the trees bordering Falun Dafa's land. He and his team were huddled next to their trucks, hidden deep in the dense woods. "All right," Jon said quietly. "We want to do this with as few casualties as possible—both ours and theirs. No mass revenge killings. Got it?" Everyone nodded. "Here's the plan. The guards' compound is here." Jon pointed to a spot on the map with one gloved finger. "Mark, Jason, Luke, and Leah; come with me. We're going to head into the guards' compound and find out where they've got Jack. The rest of you are going to stay here and wait for our signal. When we contact you, you're going to meet us wherever Jack is and help us get him out of there. Then we're going to get our _derrières _in high gear, load into the trucks, and hightail it out of here before the entire camp guard comes after us." He held out his knapsack. "There's a roll of bungee cord in my pack. Tie up anything and everything you've got on you that makes noise—including your mouths, if necessary. You have silencers on your rifles; use them. We need to maintain the element of surprise for as long as we possibly can. Got it?" The agents nodded. "Good. Let's go."

-o-o-o-o-

"Next time, Jon, try not to pick such a dense path, okay?" Jason Bennett grumbled as he used the barrel of his rifle to push a thick tree branch out of their way.

"You got a better plan? What would you rather we do?" Jon shot back. "Go knock on the front gate and ask to borrow a cup of sugar? That's a great way to get turned into Swiss cheese by a bunch of trigger-happy guards!" He brushed off a clump of snow that had landed on his shoulder from a nearby tree. "We're here, anyway, so stop complaining."

Everyone fell silent as they peered through the dense trees and caught their first glimpse of Falun Dafa. "Ugh," Leah Wang remarked, shuddering as she eyed the dark concrete buildings in front of them. "Just looking at this place gives me the creeps."

"Just be glad you're not a prisoner here," Jon said darkly, pulling his scarf tighter around his neck to ward off the bitter wind. "All right. The guards' compound should be off to our right. Let's move."

The five agents fell silent again, focusing on their path, as they made their way through the dense woods towards the guards' compound. Suddenly, Jon tripped and fell hard, lading on his stomach in the deep, powdery snow. "Oof!"

"You okay?" Mark Reese held out a hand to his commander and helped him to his feet. "Tripping over your feet, eh, Bigfoot?"

Jon made a face at him. "That wasn't my foot. I'm not a mutant; I don't have three legs. And the two that I do have are firmly attached to my body. That was a log."

"That was _not_ a log," Jason Bennett spoke up. "Jon, that was a person."

Jon stopped in his tracks, with one combat-booted foot still poised in midair. He lowered his foot, and spun to face Jason. "What?"

"I said, that was a person, not a log," Jason repeated. "Look."

Hurriedly, Jon knelt down next to the still form. "Oh, man," he muttered. "That's not good. Hey, you still with us, guy?" He shook the man's shoulder gently. "Mark, hand me the medical bag." Mark did as requested, and Jon rummaged in the bag for a vial of smelling salts.

He pulled the man's scarf away from his face... and came face-to-face with an unconscious Jack Bauer.

Startled, Jon nearly dropped the vial of smelling salts. "Jack," he said quietly. "Agent Bauer. Can you hear me?" He gave Jack's shoulder a gentle shake, but the only response that he received was a weak groan and incoherent mumbling. Jon fumbled for his radio. "Ian, Megan, everybody else—can you hear me?" he whispered, speaking as loudly as he dared.

"Yeah, Jon, we hear you," came Ian Rubio's voice. "What's up?"

"I found Jack Bauer," Jon told him. "We're in the woods on the northeastern side of the camp. He's alive and breathing, but not conscious or coherent. I'm not sure how long he's been out here."

"Too long, for someone in his condition," Megan Weiss spoke up. "Get him back here as quickly as you can."

"Copy that," Jon replied. "Hopefully, no one's discovered him missing yet. We need to move fast. I'm going to bring him to you; I want you to be in the trucks and ready to go when I get there. Got it?" There was a chorus of _yes_es. "Good." Jon let the radio fall back to his side, and motioned to the four people gathered around him. "Give me a hand here, guys." Without complaint, they surrounded Jack and lifted him from the snow. Balancing his limp form between them, they began to walk.

After what felt like an eternity, they emerged from the woods on the far side of Falun Dafa's land. The rest of the team was waiting patiently next to their vehicles. There was a flurry of activity as they all piled into the three trucks. Jon carefully placed Jack's still-unmoving form in the backseat of the third truck, and climbed in after him. Megan, the team's medic, sat down on Jack's other side. The door had barely closed behind her before the line of vehicles was racing across the snowy landscape, headed for freedom.

"I've got a contact waiting for us in Shanghai," Jon said over the roar of the engine. "He's agreed to let us camp out in his apartment until we can arrange transport back to the US." He leaned back in his seat. "Next stop, Shanghai in two hours."

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	16. Chapter 16

_A/N: Hey, all! I am SO SORRY that it has been so long since the last update. I am up to my ears in stuff to do right now. School projects, work stuff, church stuff... This Saturday, March 22, I'm leaving bright and early in the morning to head off on a church mission trip to Mexico!! I'm SO EXCITED!!!! _

_Enjoy this latest chapter, and I will hopefully have more written by the time I get back._

Chapter 16

**Shanghai, China**

"Hey, Patrick, we don't have all day!" Jon hissed. "I'm freezing my ass off out here! Let us in!"

"What's the password?" a man's voice called back, only half-teasing.

"It's, 'I've got an unconscious man in my arms, and his dead weight is friggin' heavy!' " Jon shot back. "Now open the door!"

They heard a laugh, and someone fiddling with locks on the other side of the door. In moments, the door swung open to reveal a man with thick dark hair, brown eyes, and a frayed gray ARMY t-shirt. "Jon McCoy. Good to see you again," he said with a warm smile.

"Good to see you too, Patrick." Jon smiled back. Then his smile disappeared. "Would you mind moving out of the doorway? I've been carrying this guy for a while now, and my arms are gonna fall off. Besides, it's freezing cold out here. He's got enough issues; we don't need to add frostbite to the problem."

"Sure." Patrick stepped back into the apartment and held the door open, allowing the team to enter. "I put fresh sheets on the bed in the guest room. You can put him in there."

"Thanks," Jon said gratefully. Jack's unconscious form was balanced between Jon and Mark, and they both breathed sighs of relief as they gently laid him down on the bed. "Whew! There we go." Jon surveyed the grime and dried blood that covered Jack's face. "On second thought, maybe a bath would be a good idea first. Mark, help me get him into the bathroom. Megan, go find your medical bag. See what you've got in the way of bandages and painkillers." The young woman nodded, and dashed from the apartment.

When she returned, Mark and Jon had Jack in the bathroom and were gently bathing the gashes that covered his body. The warm water seemed to bring him out of his stupor, and he was stirring groggily. "You're a mess, Agent Bauer," Jon muttered as he gently wiped layers of grime and dried blood from Jack's face. "What did they do to you?"

Megan approached carefully. "I've got some codeine," she said to Jon. "Should I give it to him?" Jon nodded, and Megan knelt down next to them. "Hi, Jack," she said softly, unsure of whether the semi-conscious man could hear her. "My name's Megan. I work with Jon; I'm a medic. I'm going to give you something to help with the pain, all right?" She wasn't sure, but she thought she heard a grunt in response. "All right, then. Let's see here." Megan gently swabbed a spot on Jack's shoulder with an alcohol wipe, trying to find an area that wasn't covered in cuts to avoid hurting him further. He tensed, clutching at Jon's shirt sleeve. "Easy," Megan murmured, placing a reassuring hand on his arm. "All right, Jack," she added, uncapping the syringe. "You're going to feel a little pinch now." Jack flinched and whimpered pitifully at the needle's sharp sting. "There," Megan soothed, taping a Band-Aid into place. "I'm done." Jack sighed sleepily and relaxed, mumbling something incoherent.

Suddenly, Jack's eyes fluttered open. His body went rigid as he spotted the people gathered around him, and he immediately drew back. "Easy, easy," Jon said gently. "It's all right." Jack's wild-eyed gaze darted frantically about the small room as he pressed himself back against the wall. His eyes were wide with fright as he scanned the room, and he reminded Jon of a trapped animal searching desperately for an escape. "Jack," Jon repeated, raising his voice slightly. "It's all right. You're safe. No one's going to hurt you." Jack regarded him dubiously. "I guess you don't believe me, huh?" Jon remarked. "Well, maybe this will help." He reached into his shirt pocket and withdrew a photograph that Karen Hayes had given him before he left for Beijing.

Jack pawed hesitantly at the offered photo, and then his eyes lit up. "Audrey," he rasped, his words slurred by the codeine's effects.

Jon smiled. "Yeah. She's pretty worried about you. We'll have you home soon so you can see her, okay?" He eyed the picture. "She's one good-looking lady, you know that?" Jack's eyes narrowed, and he gave Jon a death glare as he clutched the picture tighter. Jon laughed, holding up his hands in surrender. "Easy, tiger. I'm already married; I've got a pretty lady of my own. Audrey's all yours." He heard a snort and a chuckle from Mark.

Jon sobered. "All right, Jack. You've got some codeine in your system to help with the pain, and it's going to knock you out soon. Let's get you into bed before it does." He nodded to Mark, and the other man immediately got to his feet and helped him lift Jack from the floor. Together, they dressed him in a set of pajamas that Patrick had left outside the bathroom door, and half-led and half-carried him across the hallway to the guest bedroom. The codeine was taking effect, and Jon had to raise his voice by several decibel levels to keep Jack's attention on him. "Which way do you think would be the most comfortable for you to sleep, Jack? Your stomach, your side, or your back?" He waited patiently for Jack's answer.

"Back," Jack croaked. It was the obvious choice. His battered ribs made both sides not an option, and there were too many fresh wounds across his stomach. His back was crisscrossed with wounds, too, but they were somewhat better than the ones across his stomach and chest.

"Okay, then." Together, Jon and Mark helped Jack climb into the bed and pull the sheets over his battered body. "There we go." Jon picked up the bowl of chicken soup that Patrick had placed on the nightstand. "Now, before you crash completely, I want you to try and eat some of this," he said. Jack shook his head no, groggily burrowing into the pillows. Jon smiled slightly. "Jack, I was hired by Audrey and Secretary Heller to find you. They both seem like nice people, but they're going to kick my butt if they find out that I got you out of Falun Dafa and then let you die of starvation. You don't have to eat all of this; just take a few bites." Jack opened his mouth to protest, but Jon seized the opportunity and slipped a spoonful of the hot broth between his lips. Taken by surprise, Jack automatically swallowed. "Tricked you, eh?" Jon laughed. "See, it's good. Eat."

Jack needed no further urging, and accepted the next spoonfuls without coaxing. Jon smiled with satisfaction to see that the bowl was nearly empty by the time Jack pushed it away. "All right, that's fair enough," he agreed. "You kept your end of the bargain; now I'll keep mine. We'll go away and let you sleep." He carefully placed several pillows on either side of Jack's body. "There, now you won't roll around while you sleep. Just holler if you need anything." Jack nodded sleepily as his eyelids dipped and closed.

Jon tiptoed from the room, pulling the door closed behind him. Patrick was standing just outside the door, and he looked expectantly at Jon. "He's sleeping like a log," Jon reported. "He ate most of the soup, and then the codeine took effect and he was out like a light."

Patrick eyed him. "You look like you could use some sleep yourself, Jon. I put fresh sheets on all of the beds, and there are sleeping bags in the hall closet. Both couches in the living room fold out into fairly comfortable beds. You and your team can feel free to make yourselves at home and crash wherever you want."

"Thanks," Jon said earnestly. "I'm fine for now, but I might take you up on that offer a little later."

Patrick shook his head. "You look like you're about to collapse in your tracks, Jon McCoy. If you won't lie down and take a nap, can I at least offer you some coffee?"

Jon smiled. "You have no idea how much I would love some decent coffee," he said with a laugh.

Patrick chuckled. "Well, then, come on into the kitchen and I'll get you a cup."

Gratefully, Jon followed him down the hallway. "Leave it for me. I'm going to make a quick phone call; I'll be there in a few minutes." He ducked into an empty bedroom, pulled his satellite phone from his pocket, and dialed a number.

"Karen Hayes."

"Hey, Karen, it's Jon."

"Jon! Good to hear from you," Karen said warmly. "How are things going?"

Jon smiled slightly. "Good. Great, in fact. I've located Jack Bauer. Actually, I haven't just _located_ him; I have him with me."

"You _what?"_ Karen sounded shocked. "How did you find him? When? Where was he?"

"In Falun Dafa, just like we thought," Jon told her. "One of our contacts got some info out of a very drunken prison guard, and we put two and two together. We found Jack in the woods just outside of the camp. Apparently, he pulled a Houdini escape move and got away from his captors."

"Do they know that?" Karen asked worriedly.

Jon ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know. As far as I can tell, we weren't followed from the camp, and no one's come to us looking for him. We're sitting on a ticking time bomb here, though. I need to get him and my team out of the country ASAP."

"Do you need transport?" Karen asked.

Jon shook his head. "No, I don't think so. I've got some friends with planes that should be able to help us out."

"Good luck. How's Jack?" Karen added.

Jon hesitated. "Not great. He's alive, but he's a mess. They obviously didn't feed him every day. He's as thin as a rail; skin and bones. And they roughed him up pretty good." He heard Karen's sharp intake of breath. "He's covered in cuts and bruises," Jon told her grimly. "There's a gunshot wound in his right leg that's horribly infected, and he's got multiple broken bones. My team medic is treating him for now, but I'd like to get him to a hospital in LA as soon as we can. Any ideas?"

"CTU Medical," Karen said immediately. "We can keep an eye on him there, and we can bring in doctors if need be."

Jon nodded. "Sounds good. I'll get to work on arranging transport."

"Keep me posted, Karen requested.

"Will do," Jon agreed. "I'll call you again as soon as I can."

"Thanks," Karen told him gratefully. "Good luck."

Jon ended the call, and slid the phone back into his pocket. Then he headed down the hallway in search of the coffee that Patrick had promised.

TBC

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	17. Chapter 17

_A/N: I'm back!! Mexico was absolutely amazing. I'm already planning to go back next year. We spent the week working with a tiny church in Mexicali, holding VBS for the kids and teens. We also spent a few days painting and repairing a falling-apart little school. I've got my pictures up on a web album, and I'm working on posting a trip journal on Xanga. __  
__ANYWAY, I got some writing done on the ten-hour trip home (five-hour drive to the California-Mexico border, and five-hour flight). Here's the latest chapter._

Chapter 17

**Los Angeles, California**

Karen smiled as she replaced her cell phone in her pocket. With just one phrase, Jon had lifted most of the stress and worry that had plagued all of them for the past few weeks. _"I've located Jack Bauer. Actually, I haven't just located him; I have him with me."_ Jack was badly injured, but he was in the hands of friends. He was safe.

Karen got to her feet, heading for the door of the small office that she and Bill Buchanan were sharing for the time being. She needed to talk with Audrey.

Audrey was sitting at her desk, poring over a thick manila file folder. Binders, folders, and papers were scattered all across the desk, and several pages were covered in scribbled notes and messages. Karen knocked softly at the door, frowning when Audrey glanced up and motioned her into the room. The young woman's eyes were bleary, swollen, and red-rimmed behind her brown reading glasses. She looked exhausted.

Karen pulled the door open and stepped into the room. "Audrey, have you been getting enough sleep?" she asked in greeting. "You look exhausted."

Audrey hesitated. "Not really," she admitted. "I probably only got about four hours last night." She ran a hand over her face wearily.

"What are you doing here?" Karen exclaimed. "You should be at home sleeping!"

Audrey shook her head vehemently. "I can't sleep now. We've got to find Jack. CTU needs all the help they can get."

"I want you to go lie down in the clinic and get some sleep," Karen told her sternly. "That's an order. You won't be any help if you work yourself into exhaustion and get sick."

"Later," Audrey replied firmly. Without another word, she slipped her glasses back on and turned her attention back to the file that she had been reading.

"Audrey," Karen said quietly. Impatience flickered on the younger woman's face, but she set the file down and glanced up again. "I didn't come in here to argue with you about sleep," Karen told her. "I came to talk to you about Jack."

Audrey immediately gave Karen her full attention. "Have you heard from Jon? Has he found anything?"

Karen smiled. "Yes, he has. I just talked with him, and he told me that things are going well." She sat down next to Audrey. "He has Jack with him. They got him out of the camp, and they're staying with one of Jon's contacts in Shanghai."

Audrey's crystal-blue eyes immediately lit up, shining with tears and hope. "Oh," she gasped, half-laughing and half-crying. "Oh, thank God! Is he…. Did they hurt him? Is he okay?"

"From what Jon could tell me, they treated him pretty badly," Karen said gently. Audrey bit her lip. "Audrey, it's all right," Karen added hastily. "He's hurt, but he's going to be fine. Jon's team has a medic, and she's taking care of Jack. They're keeping him comfortable, and taking good care of him. He's not in perfect condition right now, but he will be all right."

"His injuries may heal fine, but they still have to get him to safety," Audrey shot back. "They don't know what will happen. What if Cheng's people are out there waiting to take him again? What if they can't find someone to bring them back to the US? What if no one _can_ bring him back?"

"The key word there is_ 'if'_," Karen reminded her. "Those are possibilities. There are risks. But there's also a good chance that everything will work out fine, and Jack will come back safe and sound. Jack and Jon are both soldiers, Audrey. Soldiers don't leave their comrades behind. Jon will do everything in his power to bring Jack home safely." She met Audrey's tear-filled gaze. "I debated giving you the news until we knew more, but I just couldn't wait. You've had a horrible few weeks; we all have. I wanted you to have something to smile about."

"I do," Audrey laughed. She was beaming, and her eyes were shining with a light that hadn't been there since the beginning of this ordeal. "Thank you, Karen. And when you talk with Jon again, tell him thank you as well. I appreciate it more than he knows."

Karen smiled. "I'll tell him. Now, go get some sleep." She left the room before Audrey had a chance to protest.

**-o-o-o-o-**

**Shanghai, China**

Jack was hallucinating. He had to be; that was the only possible explanation. Why else would he feel a thick, soft mattress beneath him instead of a cold concrete floor? Not even Ling was _that_ kind to him. There was an unspoken hierarchy in Falun Dafa: Guards got special treatment. Prisoners didn't. It was simple. And surely, Jack thought bitterly, he would be the _last_ person to receive such preferential treatment. The guards had made their feelings for him perfectly clear.

He was startled out of his thoughts by the sound of the door opening. Jack frowned; even that didn't sound right. The door to his cell hung on rusty metal hinges, and screeched horribly each time it was opened. This door opened silently, with only a soft click. _Where was he? What was going on?_

Soft footsteps entered the room, and suddenly a man in a gray t-shirt appeared in Jack's line of vision. He was an American, with thick, unruly dark brown hair and brown eyes. "Well, look who's awake at last," he said with a friendly smile. "Welcome back to the Land of the Living, Jack. How are you feeling?"

Jack frowned, his brow furrowing in confusion. "Who…. who are you?" he rasped hoarsely, licking his chapped lips. Fleeting images flickered and danced at the edges of his mind, and suddenly he remembered. This was Jon McCoy, the man that Audrey and Karen had sent to rescue him. Jack shook his head. "Never mind. I recognize you now."

Jon smiled reassuringly. "Confusion is normal after an ordeal like this. How are you feeling now?"

"Like hell," Jack croaked.

Jon laughed aloud. "I'll bet. I just gave you a pretty hefty dose of codeine, though, so you should start feeling a little better soon." He reached over to the nightstand. "I brought some breakfast for you. I don't know if you like oatmeal or not, but it's fresh and hot. Do you feel like eating?"

Painstakingly, Jack pulled himself to a sitting position. "I've been living on bread that tastes like sawdust, so I'll take anything. Thank you very much."

Jon nodded. "You're welcome."

Jack took the spoon that Jon offered and, with effort, brought it towards his lips. Even his good arm was incredibly weak and unstable, however, and the spoonful of oatmeal landed squarely on the front of his shirt as his hand gave out and collapsed, sending the spoon tumbling onto the sheets. His face flamed red with embarrassment. "I…."

Wordlessly, as though nothing had happened, Jon picked up the spoon and filled it again. This time, however, he grasped Jack's hand in his and guided the spoon to his mouth. "There you go."

Jack ducked his head, not meeting Jon's gaze, as he swiped furiously at the splattered oatmeal on his shirt. "Thanks," he said gruffly, blushing again.

"Sure." Calmly, Jon cleaned up the spilled oatmeal, and then held the spoon to Jack's lips again. Patiently, he helped Jack spoon small bites of oatmeal into his mouth until the bowl was empty.

Jack met his gaze. "Thank you."

Jon smiled reassuringly. "No problem. Can I get you anything else? Another blanket? Some water? Anything?" Jack shook his head no. "All right, then. If you do need anything, just ask. This place is overflowing with people; _someone_ will get it for you." He sat down at the foot of the bed. "You were off in La-La Land last night, so I never got the chance to properly introduce myself."

He spotted movement out of the corner of his eye, and turned to see the other members of his team gathered in the doorway of the small room. "Let me rephrase that. _We_ never got a chance to introduce _our_selves." Jon motioned to the crowd in the doorway. "Come on in, team. Jack, these are the people that helped me find you." He pointed to each one in turn. "Mark Reese, Jason Bennett, Luke O'Connor, Leah Wang, Ian Rubio, and Megan Weiss. And that's Patrick Cooper. This is his apartment."

Jack's eyes lit up as he surveyed the crowd of people jammed into the tiny room. "Thank you," he said earnestly, looking at each of them in turn. "Thank you all very much. You…you saved my life."

An adamant chorus of "Sure" and "No problem" rose from the team. "Don't look so surprised, Jack," Mark spoke up. "We were hired by Karen Hayes and Audrey to find you. From what I've seen of Audrey, it shouldn't be any surprise that she called in the elite Delta teams to come track you down. She's a stubborn, determined lady."

"Good-looking, too," Jason commented, to a round of laughter and teasing.

Jack smiled. "Yes, she is." More chuckles came from the team, and Jack's shy smile widened.

The next few hours passed in a blur of laughter, teasing, and playful banter. For the first time since his hellish ordeal had begun, Jack relaxed and drifted off to sleep with a smile on his lips.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

**Los Angeles, California**

Eric Meade grimaced when he saw the stack of papers waiting for him on his office desk. Resignedly, he sat down in his chair and reached for the first page on top of the pile. "_**Jon McCoy called**_," it read in large bold letters. "_**Needs to talk with you. Says it's urgent. Call him back ASAP.**_"

With a sigh, Eric reached for his desk phone and dialed Jon's number. "Probably got himself captured by the Russian KGB or something," he muttered, drumming his fingers impatiently on his desk as he waited for the call to connect.

"Jon McCoy." Jon's voice was slow and heavy with fatigue and grogginess, and Eric frowned in confusion.

"Hey, Jon, it's Eric. I've got a note on my desk telling me that you called earlier with an urgent message. What's up?" he asked cautiously. "And why do you sound like you just woke up?"

"Because I did." Jon yawned. "It's the middle of the night."

Eric arched an eyebrow. "You need to check your clock, McCoy. It's one o'clock in the afternoon."

"Not in Shanghai, it's not!" Jon shot back impatiently. "It's two-thirty in the morning here."

"What are you doing in Shanghai?" Eric demanded.

"I've been tasked to rescue someone," Jon replied. "And I need your help."

Eric shook his head. "Yeah, well, I need a little more info. What in the world have you gotten yourself into _this_ time? Who are you rescuing, and why do you need my help?"

Jon yawned again. "Listen, it's a long story, and I'm not really in the mood to rehash it at two-thirty in the morning. I'll call you back in a few hours."

Eric sighed. "Fine." Rolling his eyes, he hung up the phone.

-o-o-o-o-

True to his word, Jon called back a few hours later. "Hey," Eric greeted him. "Are you awake enough to talk now?"

Jon laughed slightly, then sobered. "Yes. As I said earlier, I need your help. I've been tasked to rescue someone, and I need your help to get him out of here and back to the US. His name is Jack Bauer. He's an agent for CTU LA, and he's one of their top assets. Because of the work he does, he's made a lot of enemies over the years. A few months ago, he got snatched up by one of said enemies and dumped into solitary confinement at Falun Dafa."

Eric winced. "Ouch."

"Yeah," Jon agreed. "We've got him now; we're holed up in an apartment in Shanghai. I need your help to get out of here and back to the US."

Eric shook his head. "I'm not an official Delta Force member anymore, remember?"

"Yeah, well, neither am I," Jon shot back impatiently. "But I'm here. Besides, since when did you let words like _official_ or _unofficial_ stop you? You've got a pilot's license, and you have a plane. Sounds like a deal to me."

"Christ, you're just as stubborn as you were when I flew with you in Desert Storm in the '90s," Eric grumbled. "But you're forgetting one important detail. Remember the ambush in Najaf, and the mortar round that the Iraqis hit us with? Remember the chunk of shrapnel that landed in my shoulder, and the steel plate that is now in my shoulder? Does any of that ring a bell?"

"Yes."

"Two words, McCoy," Eric told him. "_Medical discharge._ It's stamped on my ID. How am I going to explain it if I just hop into a plane and waltz off to China?"

"You'll think of something," Jon replied. "Besides, remember, you still owe me for coming in and saving you from those goons at the border crossing in Abdali, Kuwait."

Eric groaned. "Yeah, I knew you'd bring _that_ up."

"And now I have." Eric could practically see the smirk on Jon's face. "So get your butt over here and help me out. We're even."

Eric sighed. "You really don't give up easily, do you, McCoy? All right, all right, you got me."

"You'll do it?" Jon asked.

"I will." Eric ran a hand through his hair. "I have no idea how it'll turn out, but I'll do my best. Let me talk with Neil McAllister, and I'll get back to you in a few days with the final verdict."

"Fine. And, Eric? Thank you."

"Yeah, yeah. You're welcome." Shaking his head wearily, Eric hung up the phone.


	19. Chapter 19

_A/N: Here's another chapter for you! Thanks so much for all of the reviews. I really appreciate them. Hey, __**Eric,**__ you have a character named after you! You're a pilot! :) To answer your question about Jon: Chuck Norris is an interesting choice. I never thought about that. I actually picture Jon to be somewhat like Matthew McConaughey's character Dirk Pitt in the movie _Sahara.

_Anyway, enjoy this latest chapter!_

Chapter 19

**Qinghai, China**

"Answer me, now! How did you idiots manage to let Jack Bauer escape?" Cheng Zhi's dark eyes were smoldering with anger as he looked at the two men before him. Han Feng, the guard, now sported a large black-and-purple bruised knot on his forehead. Dr. Ming Liu, the doctor assigned to Jack Bauer's care, was bleary-eyed and groggy almost to the point of incoherence. "How did this happen?" Cheng demanded furiously.

Han nervously met the gaze of the raging, angry man in front of him. "I-I don't know. I never saw him coming. When I opened the door, he was waiting, and he attacked me and knocked me unconscious. When I woke up, I was handcuffed to the bed and my uniform was gone... and Bauer was gone as well." He gingerly fingered the large bruise on his forehead, wincing. "He seems to have had extensive military training."

"He _has_ had military training, you fool!" Cheng exploded. "He is an elite agent for the American government! Why do you think Liu needed a guard whenever he went into the cell? Speaking of Liu, what happened to you? Too much to drink last night?" he asked sarcastically, giving the groggy doctor an irritable glance.

"No," the man insisted. He ran a hand over his face. "I went into the cell, intending to sedate him, as you had asked. He told me that he needed to use the toilet, and asked me to uncuff him. When I did, he grabbed the syringe from my cart and stabbed me with it, injecting me with the sedative that I was going to give to him. That is all that I remember."

Cheng Zhi's eyes flashed dangerously. "He deserves to pay for the crimes that he has committed. I went through a great deal of trouble to bring him here." He jabbed the air with a finger that shook with rage. "I want Jack Bauer found and returned to me. Do you understand? _Find him!"_ With that, he stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind him.

**-o-o-o-o-**

**TWO WEEKS LATER**

**Pasadena, California**

Eric Meade glanced nervously around him as he approached the chain-link fence surrounding the old, seldom-used airfield. As he slipped inside the gate, Neil McAllister emerged from somewhere and came to greet him. "Morning, Eric," the older man whispered. "Good to see you."

"Considering that you're whispering, I assume no one knows about this?" Eric asked cautiously.

Neil shook his head. "Conlon wouldn't agree; said it was too risky." A slight smile flickered on his face. "So we'll just have to fly under the radar." He motioned for Eric to follow him. "Here's your plane. It's a Cessna 170-B. Small but sturdy. It'll do the job." Neil motioned to the small plane. "Everything you asked for is in there. Heaven forbid that you need them, but there are two fire extinguishers and two survival packs on board. One set is under your seat; the other is in the rear of the plane."

Eric nodded gratefully. "Thanks."

Neil smiled. "You're welcome." He handed Eric a folded piece of paper. "You've got enough fuel to get you to a military base in Germany. You'll refuel there, and then continue on to China. There's an old abandoned airfield just outside of Shanghai. That's where you'll meet your contact, a man named Henry Austen. He'll give you another plane, one that's big enough to hold Jon and his team. Make contact with Jon and plan out your meeting time. Then, load everybody on board and get yourselves back here. Got it?"

Eric nodded. "Thank you, Neil," he said earnestly. "Thank you for everything."

The silver-haired older man nodded. "You're very welcome." He held out his hand for a handshake. "God bless you," he said earnestly. "Fly safe. Bring them home."

Taking a deep breath, Eric climbed into the pilot's seat of the small plane. He buckled the straps of his safety harness, and busied himself with completing the various routine pre-flight checks. At last, he gave Neil a nod and a thumbs-up. The older man nodded in acknowledgement, smiling encouragement.

Neil watched as Eric's plane taxied down the runway, steadily gathering speed until it rose into the air. As it climbed higher in the sky, Neil brought his right hand to his brow in a salute. He stood silently, keeping his eyes locked on the small plane, until it disappeared into the clouds.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

**Shanghai, China**

The next afternoon, Jon knocked softly on the door of the guest bedroom and poked his head inside. Jack was sitting up in bed, propped against several thick pillows, as Megan Weiss examined his injuries. She had placed his broken right leg and arm in crude splints, and the two injured limbs were elevated with pillows.

Megan gently prodded the still-swollen gunshot wound in Jack's right thigh. "This looks a little better," she informed him. "It isn't as red, and the heat and swelling are going down. I'm going to up your antibiotic dose," she added. "You're still pretty weak and vulnerable, and the last thing you need right now is another infection." She shook her head as she deftly wrapped a fresh dressing around the nasty wound. "A gunshot wound, an injured knee, and who knows how many broken bones. That is what I would call a _very_ messed-up leg, Jack." She smiled as he chuckled softly. "Take these," she added, handing him a several pills. Jack eyed the handful of small white pills warily. "They're not witch-doctor herbs, Jack," Megan laughed. "Demerol for the pain, and some extra antibiotics. Standard modern medications."

Slowly, painstakingly, Jack brought the pills to his mouth with his good hand and slipped them between his lips. Megan held out an opened bottle of water. Jack shakily grasped it with his good hand, and Megan patiently held the bottle steady as he drank deeply. "There," she said kindly, replacing the cap on the bottle. "Those pain meds will start working soon, and you'll feel good as new."

Jack snorted scornfully as he caught a glimpse of his reflection in the mirror that hung on the opposite wall. "What were you saying about _'good as new?' "_ he asked dryly, running a hand over the white gauze and tape that covered the worst of his cuts. "I make The Mummy look good." He gingerly prodded the purple bruises and scabbed-over gashes that marred his face. "I look like Frankenstein."

Jon laughed aloud as he stepped into the room. "You look like anyone would in your situation. You just escaped from a Chinese gulag, Jack. I think you're entitled to look a little roughed up." Jack just shook his head.

"Now," Megan said as she finished packing her supplies back into her neon orange medical bag. "You have a choice, Jack. We can take you into the living room with everyone else, or you can just stay in here and snooze. Which would you like to do?"

Jack thought for a moment. "Living room," he said finally. "Please."

Megan smiled. "All right, living room it is. Jon, can you give us a hand here?" Silently, obediently, Jack allowed himself to be lifted from the bed and carried down the hallway into the living room. "There," Megan said with satisfaction as she and Jon carefully lowered Jack into the recliner next to the couch. "Comfy?" He nodded wordlessly. "Let us know if you need anything, all right?" Again, he nodded. Megan got to her feet, and Jack glanced first at her and then at Jon. "Thank you," he said, somewhat shyly.

Megan smiled. "You're welcome, Jack." She gave his shoulder a gentle pat, and then left the room.

Jon sat down on the couch next to Jack's chair. "We haven't really had a chance to talk," he said casually. "I know that you're an agent for CTU LA, and that you have a girlfriend named Audrey and a daughter named Kim. You know that I'm a former Delta Force member—although, I guess that _former_ is up for debate, considering that I'm here," he added wryly. "Is there anything else that we should know about each other? We're going to be stuck together for at least a little while longer, you know. We'll find out all of each other's deep, dark secrets eventually." With satisfaction, he noticed the corners of Jack's mouth lifting in the slightest hint of a smile. "Did you know that I have a family?" Jon asked, continuing the conversation.

"You do?"

Jon nodded. "A wife named Erin, and a daughter named Morgan. She just had her fourth birthday a few months ago," he added with a smile. He rummaged in his back pocket until he found his wallet, and removed two small photos. "Here are their pictures."

Jack carefully examined the two photos. Something flickered in his eyes as he gazed at the picture of Morgan in a dark red velvet dress, with her dark hair pulled back in an elaborate braid. Her eyes were bright, and she was grinning widely. Jack swallowed the lump that had risen in his throat. "She's gorgeous, Jon," he whispered. "Absolutely beautiful."

Jon nodded. "She's just like her mother." He glanced at Jack, and saw that tears had risen in his eyes. Jon sobered instantly. "Look at me, Jack." He waited until Jack hesitantly made eye contact. "Before I left on this mission, I made a promise. Three, actually. One to Erin and Morgan, one to Audrey, and one to you. I promised Erin and Morgan that I would come home safely. And I promised Audrey that I would bring you home safely with me. I intend to keep that promise, Jack. One of my contacts is a man named Eric Meade. He's a pilot. He has a plane, and he's on his way here to Shanghai. When he gets here, we are all going to get on that plane, and we are going to fly home."

"You and I both know it's not that simple," Jack muttered bitterly.

"You're right, it's not simple. But it is do-able," Jon told him. "You and Eric have a lot in common, Jack Bauer. One thing being that neither of you know how to take _no_ for an answer." This time, he was rewarded with a real smile, however brief, from Jack. "I mean that," Jon said firmly. "Eric may not be an official Delta member anymore, but he isn't going to let that stop him. I give you my word, Jack. It may not be a completely legal trip," Jon added with a slight laugh, "but we _will_ find a way to get you home."


	21. Chapter 21

_A/N: Sorry about the slight lag between updates. My grandma is very sick right now, so I'm a little preoccupied. She's never been sick a day in her life, she's been the picture of health. We met her for dinner last Monday, and my Mom mentioned that Grandma Star's skin looked a little yellow. No one thought anything about it, everyone insisted it was the lighting. She said that she felt fine. That was last Monday. __  
__This Wednesday, I got a call from my Dad while I was at school, letting me know that Grandma Star had collapsed and been taken to the hospital. I saw her that afternoon, and she looked HORRIBLE. Her skin was unbelievably yellow, and she was so weak she could barely sit up. This change had come in the course of a week. __  
__The doctors are running all kinds of tests. As far as they can tell, the yellow-ness is coming from a problem with her liver. There is a mass or something blocking the tube-things (forget what they're called) between the liver and the kidneys, so all the gross bile that the kidneys and liver usually filter out of the body are backing up into her bloodstream and other places. She had surgery this morning to put in a stent (straw-like tube) to help drain some of this stuff. It's helping a little, but not much. The doctors are not sure what this mass is; they think it could be cancer. We are all very worried and upset. Please keep my grandma and us in your prayers._

_ANYWAY, this Author's Note is positively gigantic, so I'm going to shut up now. Here is the next chapter._

Chapter 21

Jon smiled as he pulled his satellite phone from his pocket and dialed a number. He knew just who he wanted to call.

"Karen Hayes."

"Karen," Jon said in surprise. "I was hoping to reach my wife. Did I dial your cell phone instead?"

"No," Karen assured him. "You dialed the right number. I'm spending the day at your house. Erin has a nasty cold, and I volunteered to watch Morgan so she could get some rest."

"Well, that was nice of you. You really didn't have to do that, you know," Jon told her.

"I wanted to," Karen replied firmly. "Besides, you should know by now that I'll take any opportunity that I can to sit for Morgan. Now," she added, "how are things on your end? How's Jack?"

"He's doing well, all things considered," Jon said, sinking into a chair. "Megan is taking great care of him, like she does for all of my team. She says that the infection in his leg is going down, and that the gunshot wound is beginning to heal."

"Well, that's good news." Karen sounded relieved.

"It is. Megan's keeping Jack supplied with painkillers and antibiotics, and we're all making sure that he's well-fed and comfortable. He seems to be regaining a little of his energy; he's sitting up in a chair. We had a nice talk about family and home. I assured him that my team is doing everything they can to get him back to the US as soon as they can."

"I know that's the truth." Jon could practically hear Karen's smile. "Have you heard anything from Eric Meade?"

"Nothing from Eric, but Neil McAllister touched base with me a few hours ago," Jon reported. "He said that everything went well, and that Eric took off safely. If all goes well, he'll be landing here in about fourteen hours."

"What's the next step?" Karen asked. "Do you have any plans yet?"

"Of course we do. I'm wounded. Do you really think that little of my planning ability?" Jon teased. "We're Delta Force. We always have plans for the next _several_ steps."

"My apologies," Karen laughed. "I didn't intend to insult you. What is the next step in your plan, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Eric will land at an old abandoned airfield outside of Shanghai," Jon told her. "He'll meet up with his contact, a man named Henry Austen. Henry has a plane for him that's big enough to hold all of us, so Eric will switch planes. We'll meet them at their airfield, load ourselves and our gear onto the plane, and head on home to the good old USA."

"Sounds like a good plan," Karen agreed.

"Thanks. I'll keep you updated. Now," Jon added, laughing slightly, "Could I possibly speak to my wife? Or to Morgan?"

"Of course." Karen turned away from the phone. "Morgan!" she called. "Come here, sweetheart. Your daddy's on the phone. He wants to talk to you."

Jon smiled as he heard an excited squeal and a volley of running feet. Seconds later, he heard his daughter's voice. "Hi, Daddy!"

"Hi, pumpkin," Jon said warmly. "How are you?"

"Good," Morgan said cheerfully. "Karen's here, and she's playing with me. Mommy's sick," she added sadly. "Her nose is runny, and she's sneezing a lot. She says her head hurts. Her voice is all scratchy, too. Yuck!"

"Yuck," Jon agreed. "It's no fun being sick."

"But I'm helping," Morgan announced proudly. "I've been bringing her tissues, and Karen helped me bring her a snack. We had graham crackers and apple juice, and then we read stories."

"You're a very good helper," Jon told her. "Thank you."

"When are you coming home?" Morgan demanded. "We miss you a whole lot."

"I know, honey. I miss you too." Jon swallowed hard against the unexpected lump that had suddenly risen in his throat. "I'll be home soon, I promise. But I have to help somebody first."

"You have to rescue that man, right?" Morgan asked. "I heard you and Mommy talking with Karen and that other lady. What's her name again? Oh, yeah. Audrey. I liked her. Are we going to see her again, Daddy?"

"Maybe. We'll see," Jon told her. "And, yes, I have to rescue somebody. His name is Jack. I have to bring him home so he can see his friends again, and so he can go to a hospital."

" 'Cause he has owies?" Morgan asked worriedly. "Does he need Band-Aids?"

Jon laughed. "I think he has enough Band-Aids. But, yes, he has some owies, so I need to take him to a hospital so he can get better. He needs to see his friends again, too. They miss him."

"Bring him home soon, okay?" Morgan requested. "I want you to come home soon."

"I'll try," Jon said gently. "I'll be home as soon as I can."

"Okay," Morgan agreed.

"I have to go now," Jon told her. "I love you, Morgan."

"Love you, too. Bye, Daddy."

"Bye, sweetheart." With that, Jon ended the call and replaced the phone in his pocket. Then, with a sigh, he went to re-join his team in the other room.

**-o-o-o-o-**

**Los Angeles, California**

Karen Hayes smiled as she hung up the phone. From what Jon had said, it sounded as though things were working out like they all had hoped. Jack was doing relatively well, and he was in good hands. If everything went according to plan, they would have a pilot and a plane in their hands within the next few days, and then they would hopefully be on their way home.

Karen replaced the phone in its cradle, and went to see what Morgan was up to. She found the child sitting in bed with Erin, with a stack of picture books next to her. Morgan was leaning against her mother's side, and a picture book was clutched in her small hands. Karen smiled as she listened to Morgan making up her own story to go with the pictures.

Erin smiled wanly as she gazed at her daughter through red, puffy eyes. "Thank you, sweetheart," she said tiredly. "That was a very good story. Now, can you do Mommy a favor? Can you run downstairs and get me some more tissues from the bathroom?" Morgan nodded seriously, and scrambled down off of the bed.

Karen laughed as the little girl scampered past her, intent on her mission. "I'm sorry, Erin. I tried to keep her out of here so you could sleep," she apologized. "Did she wake you up?"

Erin shook her head. "No," she said hoarsely. "Sleeping is impossible. I've been lying here, staring at the ceiling and waiting for the medicine that I just took to start working." She sneezed, groped for a tissue, and irritably blew her nose. "I hate colds. And this is a bad one."

Karen smiled sympathetically. "Can I get you anything?"

Erin shook her head. "All I need are more tissues. Morgan's getting those for me. Thanks, though."

Karen sat down next to the bed. "I just spoke with Jon."

Erin brightened. "How is he?" She smiled sheepishly. "He always tells me not to worry, but I always do. I can't help it."

Karen nodded. "That's understandable. From what Jon said, though, it sounds like things are going well," she reported. "He says that one of his contacts has a plane and is en route to Shanghai. If everything goes according to plan, they should be on their way home soon."

"Good." Erin sounded relieved. "How is Audrey holding up, by the way?" she added. "Has she been told yet?"

"She's doing remarkably well, all things considered," Karen said. "She knows that Jack is out of Falun Dafa and in the hands of Jon's team. She won't fully relax until he's back on American soil, but at least she knows he's in good hands." She smiled. "Thank you for asking." Erin nodded.

Morgan came scurrying back into the room then, her arms laden with boxes of Kleenex tissues. "Here, Mommy," she announced, dumping the boxes on Erin's bed.

Erin smiled. "Thank you, sweetheart." She ruffled her daughter's hair. "I think your _Aladdin_ video is downstairs in the living room. Why don't you ask Karen if she'd like to watch it with you? Mommy's going to try and get some sleep now."

Morgan glanced expectantly at Karen. "Will you watch it with me?" she asked eagerly. "Please?"

Karen nodded, smiling. _"Aladdin_ was one of my daughters' favorites when they were your age. I'd be happy to watch it with you." Morgan's eyes lit up, and she dashed from the room. Karen looked at Erin, whose eyelids were already drooping. "Let me know if you need anything."

Erin nodded. "Thanks." A smile played on her lips. "I'm fine. Go have fun watching _Aladdin."_ Laughing, Karen left the room, pulling the door closed behind her.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

**Shanghai, China**

The tiny airfield on the outskirts of Shanghai appeared to be completely deserted. The concrete paths were cracked and crumbling, and the few standing buildings were old and ramshackle. A slight breeze blew through the empty buildings with an eerie moan, and Eric Meade shuddered as he unfolded his lanky frame from the cockpit of his small plane. He had been instructed to meet his contact here, but there was no one in sight. Cautiously, he went to the door of the dimly-lit hangar and peered out, carefully surveying his surroundings.

A lone figure appeared in the doorway of one of the other dilapidated old buildings, and Eric tensed. Was this a friend or an enemy? He reached into his jacket and rested a hand on the 9mm Beretta pistol concealed there, watching the figure warily.

The man drew close enough for Eric to see his Caucasian features and camouflage jacket. He was an American. Eric relaxed, and took his hand off of his pistol as the man approached him. "Are you Eric Meade?"

Eric nodded. "Yes."

The man held out his hand for a handshake. "My name is Henry Austen." He smiled slightly. "Welcome to Shanghai."

"Thank you." Eric returned the handshake. "Neil McAllister sent you, didn't he?"

Henry nodded. "He did. And I have a plane for you." He motioned for Eric to follow him. "Over here." He led Eric across the cracked, crumbling pavement to one of the hangars and opened the door. "It's a Cessna 208 Caravan," he said over his shoulder, walking towards the large, gleaming airplane. "It holds fourteen passengers. Your team should fit."

Eric thought for a moment, counting the number of people that would be on board the plane. "As far as I know, there are ten of us, so this should work. Thank you."

Henry nodded. "You're welcome." A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "Just do me a favor and try not to get in any accidents. This plane belongs to a friend of mine, and he'd strangle me if something happened to it."

Eric laughed. "I'll be careful."

Henry smiled. "Good." He motioned to the plane. "There are two fire extinguishers and two survival packs on board. One set is under your seat; the other is in the rear of the plane. Do you have everything that you need?"

Eric nodded. "Jon's team will be the ones with all of the gear." He motioned to the single green rucksack that he carried. "This is all that I have. Passport, money, clothes, and some food."

Henry produced a satellite phone from his jacket pocket. "If you're all ready, call Jon and tell him to get his team over here. The sooner you leave, the better." Eric took the phone gratefully, and dialed the number that he had long since memorized.

"Jon McCoy."

"Hey, Jon, it's Eric."

"Please tell me that you're close," was Jon's greeting.

Eric glanced over his shoulder at the waiting plane. "I'm very close. In fact, I'm at the airfield in Shanghai, waiting for you and your team to get yourselves over here."

Jon sounded relieved. "We'll pack up our gear and get ready to go. I'll call you once we're on our way."

"See you soon." Eric ended the call and handed the satellite phone to Henry. "Jon says that — ." Henry held up a hand and frantically motioned for Eric to be quiet. Puzzled, Eric fell silent. He watched in alarm as Henry withdrew a Glock 9mm pistol from inside his jacket and ran on tiptoe towards a cluster of overgrown trees.

A chorus of surprised and angry shouts erupted from inside the brush, followed by the sounds of a scuffle. Moments later, Henry emerged from the tangle of leaves and branches with the muzzle of his pistol pressed firmly into the back of a tall, slim Asian man. _"We were followed."_ He gave the man's shoulder a firm shake. "What's your name?"

Eric's heart skipped a beat as the man answered. "My name is Cheng Zhi."

_A/N: Uh-oh! TBC…._


	23. Chapter 23

_A/N: Thanks for the reviews. And thank you very much for all of your concerns and prayers for my grandma. Unfortunately, she passed away last Monday, at about 1:00 in the morning. Her doctors knew that she had some type of cancer, they just didn't know what. They sent her home from the hospital for a few days, to give her a break from testing. My Dad and I had a wonderful visit with her on Sunday afternoon. We spent about three hours with her, talking and laughing. Late Sunday night, my aunt and uncle noticed that she was having trouble breathing. The breaths were fast and very shallow, and she didn't seem to be conscious. At the hospital, the doctors put her on oxygen and ran some tests. They took off her oxygen mask just briefly, for only a few moments, to move her for a CT scan. As soon as they did, she stopped breathing. She had signed a DNR (Do Not Revive/Resuscitate) order, and so the decision was made to let her go. She passed away quietly, with little pain, and is now resting in the arms of Jesus with her parents and other loved ones._

_Her funeral was Friday. My dad and uncles gave a wonderful eulogy, and the pastor did a very nice job as well. The funeral service was filled with laughter and tears as we all shared stories and memories._

_Thank you so much for your prayers and support. Please continue to pray for us as we go through this difficult time._

_On another note, here's the next chapter for you._

Chapter 23

Eric froze. "Henry, Cheng Zhi is the man that kidnapped Jack Bauer," he said quietly.

Henry's eyes widened slightly. "Well, that creates a bit of a problem, doesn't it?" he muttered.

Eric grabbed the man's arm. "What are you doing here?" he demanded harshly. "Did you bring anyone else with you?"

Henry's gaze was locked on something in the bushes. "Yes, someone else did come with him!" He motioned frantically towards the ground. _"Get down!"_ They dove for cover, landing in a heap on the pavement. Eric winced as a jagged piece of cracked concrete scraped his cheek. Three gunshots rang out, and he cringed as the shots missed them by mere inches.

A man emerged from the thick grove of trees, carrying a sleek black sniper rifle. He smirked as he aimed the rifle directly at Eric and Henry.

Henry got to his feet, still with Cheng Zhi firmly in his grasp. "You shoot my man, I shoot yours," he said evenly, lifting his pistol and pressing the muzzle into Cheng's back. "Put the gun down."

The man made no move to respond. He and Henry stood motionless, eyeing each other, locked in a tense standoff.



Henry snaked his arm around Cheng Zhi's neck and placed his pistol against the man's forehead. "Put it down," he repeated, more forcefully. He pressed the muzzle of his pistol more firmly into Cheng's temple and slowly, deliberately cocked the hammer.

Cheng flinched. "Do it, Aiguo!" he exploded. "Put the gun down, you fool!" With his steely gaze locked on Henry's, Aiguo lowered the rifle towards the ground.

In one swift movement, Eric lunged from Henry's side and knocked the rifle from Aiguo's grasp, snatching it before it hit the ground. "Sit down," he ordered harshly._"Now."_ Slowly, Aiguo sank down onto the cracked, crumbling pavement. "You too," Eric added, motioning towards Cheng Zhi with his rifle. Unceremoniously, Henry forced the man to his knees next to Aiguo.

Henry took the rifle from Eric, and handed him a bag of flex-cuffs. "Secure them." Working quickly, Eric firmly bound the two men's hands with the plastic restraints. "I'll take over guard duty," Henry added, keeping the rifle trained on the two men as he produced his satellite phone from his pocket. "Meanwhile, call Jon McCoy and tell him that we've got a little problem."

Taking a deep breath, Eric dialed Jon's number.

"Jon McCoy."

"Jon, it's Eric. Ask Jack Bauer if he recognizes the name of someone named Aiguo." Jon covered the mouthpiece of the phone and repeated Eric's question. Eric heard a muffled exclamation of surprise from Jack, followed by a murmured answer.

"He says that Aiguo is the man that was assigned to guard him in Falun Dafa," Jon reported. "Why?"

Eric sighed. "He's here. He and Cheng Zhi."

A barrage of muffled cursing erupted from Jon McCoy's lips. It was followed by a chorus of, "Hey!", "Whoa!", "Watch it!", and "Watch the road!" from his passengers.

"Sorry, guys," Jon called out. "Sorry, Eric," he added. "Anyway, what the _hell_ is Cheng Zhi doing there?"

"He and Aiguo showed up with a sniper rifle in tow, intending to take us out. And you as well, most likely," Eric said grimly. "What do you want to do?" he added. "Do you want to continue as planned, or do you want to wait a while?"

Jon hesitated. "I think we'll keep going. We're almost to you, anyway, and we have weapons. We should be okay."



"How do we know that Cheng doesn't have a team lying in wait somewhere, waiting to ambush you?" Eric asked. He pressed a button on the phone. "Here, ask him yourself. You're on speakerphone."

Jon spoke up in rapid-fire Chinese, sounding absolutely furious. Cheng Zhi snarled back at him in the same language, and then switched to English. "Fortunately for you, we did not think of that. You are safe."

Henry peered down the barrel of his rifle, staring directly into the man's dark eyes. "For your sake, I hope you're not lying."

"I'm not," Cheng said simply.

Eric shook his head. "I don't like it, but I guess we'll just have to go on blind faith. Be careful, Jon," he said earnestly.

"We will," Jon assured him. "See you soon."

"We'll be waiting for you." With that, Eric hung up the phone.

_TBC_


	24. Chapter 24

_A/N: Thanks for the attention to detail, __**jen.**__ I fixed that little mistake. Henry no longer has a clone. He's in one place at a time, as it should be._

Chapter 24

Eric breathed a bigger sigh of relief than he had ever thought possible when he caught sight of Jon McCoy's team spilling out of two trucks that had stopped just inside the fence bordering the airfield. "You have no idea how glad we are to see you," he greeted Jon, reaching to take the knapsack that Jon was carrying.

"I'd say we have a pretty good idea, considering how happy we are to see you," Jon replied. "I think we were all holding our breath for almost the entire drive over here. Every car, every person walking by, every rustle of the trees made us all jump out of our skin." He began pulling knapsacks and crates from the back of the truck and setting them on the pavement. Gradually, the team members sorted the pile and claimed their gear. "We're all in one piece. No harm done."

"Good," Eric said simply.

"Hey, Jon," Henry called out from where he was still standing over Cheng and Aiguo. "What do we want to do with these two?"

"Take them with us," Jack spoke up. He was leaning against the door of the truck, eyeing the two men with utter contempt and loathing.

"I am a member of the Chinese government," Cheng informed him haughtily. "You would be charged with the kidnapping of a government official."

"What about me?" Jack pointed out. "I'm an agent for the American government, and you kidnapped me from _American_ soil. You're facing the same charges."

"I have protection from my government," Cheng said smugly.

With effort, Jack hobbled forward until his face was just inches from Cheng's. _"So do I."_

Cheng arched an eyebrow. "Really, Mr. Bauer? Because, as I recall, Charles Logan's administration was in control when you left the country. You and I both know his feelings for you."

Before anyone knew what had happened, Jack brought his hand up and struck Cheng Zhi across the face hard enough to make the man's head jerk like a puppet on a string. "You…you…." he sputtered. The second slap knocked Cheng backwards and sent him sprawling onto the pavement. Furiously, Jack dealt him a third blow, followed by a fourth.

"Jack!" Jon wrestled him away from Cheng and pulled him backwards. "That's enough." Jack's chest heaved with ragged, uneven breaths, and his piercing blue eyes were shooting fire as he allowed himself to be pulled away. The glare, combined with the menagerie of ghastly bruises and gashes that marred his face, made him appear even more intimidating. Eric made a mental note to never make Jack Bauer angry.

_"Anyway,"_ Jon said dryly. "Since I don't have any better ideas at the moment, we'll take the two of them with us. DOD can tell us what to do with them once we get back to the US." Everyone nodded in agreement. Taking a deep breath, Jon pulled his phone from his pocket. "I guess I should call Karen Hayes and let her know that we've got two extra passengers." He shook his head. This was going to be an interesting phone call.

Karen answered on the second ring. "Karen Hayes."

"Hey, Karen, it's Jon," he greeted her.

"Well, hi, Jon." Karen sounded pleasantly surprised. "I wasn't expecting to hear from you. How are things going?"

Jon ran a hand through his hair. "I'm at the airfield with my team. Eric has his plane, and our gear is loaded on board and ready to go. But we've got a little problem."

"What _kind_ of problem?" Karen demanded.

"A people problem," Jon told her. "We were followed."

_"What?"_ Karen sounded shocked and slightly panicked. "By whom?"

"Cheng Zhi and a man named Aiguo. He was the guard assigned to Jack in Falun Dafa. I have no idea how they found out where we were, but they showed up here at the airfield with a sniper rifle in tow, intending to take us all out," Jon reported grimly.

Karen was speechless. "I-I…. My God," she said helplessly. "Jon, that's…. What are we going to do?"

"Eric and Henry are keeping an eye on them for the moment. I think our best bet would be to bring them back to the States with us. DOD can tell us where to go from there." Jon shifted the phone to his other ear. "I'm almost positive that the Chinese government will refuse to acknowledge any charges that we bring against Cheng Zhi. They won't want that on their hands. They'll demand that he and Aiguo be released, and then what's to stop them from coming after Jack again?" He sighed. "Honestly, Karen, I think you need to consider taking a more drastic means of action."

"How drastic?" Karen asked cautiously. "Jon, what are you suggesting?"

"Snipers," Jon told her grimly. "Someone like Lucas Saracelli."

Karen drew in a sharp breath. _"Assassination?_ Jon, do you realize what you're saying? Cheng Zhi is a prominent member of the Chinese government. His death would bring massive repercussions."

"Not if they don't know what happened," Jon pointed out. "Lucas Saracelli is good. The Chinese would never figure out who had done it. Lucas would make it look like an unfortunate accident."

Karen sighed. "I cannot believe that I'm having this conversation," she said dryly. "Let me talk with Bill, and see what he thinks."

"Fair enough," Jon agreed.

Karen changed the subject. "Do you have any idea when you'll get here?"

"Counting refueling stops, weather changes, and whatever else may come up, I'd say that we'll be back on US soil in about nineteen hours," Jon said with a smile.

"Not a moment too soon." He could hear the smile in Karen's voice. "Fly safe."

"We will. I'll touch base with you when we land."

"Sounds good. Talk to you soon." With that, Karen hung up the phone.

Jon replaced his phone in his pocket, and turned to Eric. "Is everything ready?"

Eric gave him a thumbs-up and a nod. "We're all set."

"Great." Jon glanced at the members of his team, who were waiting expectantly next to the plane's ramp. "All right, guys. We're ready to roll. Load up!" They didn't need to be told twice. Eagerly, they shouldered their knapsacks and duffel bags, and filed up the ramp into the plane.

Together, Eric and Henry secured Cheng Zhi and Aiguo in the last row of seats on the plane. When they finished, the two men were handcuffed and shackled firmly to their chairs. "There," Eric said with satisfaction.

Henry glared at the bound men, deliberately showing them the Glock pistol holstered at his hip. "This is loaded," he said coldly, sitting down across from them. "I won't hesitate to use it. I'll be watching you, so don't try anything stupid." Cheng Zhi sniffed with disdain as he coolly turned away from Henry to peer out the window.

Meanwhile, Megan Weiss was carefully settling Jack in another seat. "If you'd like, I can sedate you so you'll sleep through the flight," she offered, reaching for her medical bag. "I have meds in here."

"Like a caged pet in the cargo bay," Jack said wryly, making her laugh. "No, thanks. I'll be fine."

"You sure?" Megan asked, concerned. "It's about an eighteen-hour flight. Sleeping through it would definitely be more comfortable for you." Jack shook his head, and Megan shrugged. "Okay, if you're sure." She withdrew a syringe and a vial of medication from her bag. "I am going to give you an extra dose of painkillers, though. Just in case." Jack nodded his consent, and Megan carefully measured out the correct dosage. "Little stick coming," she said automatically as she swabbed a spot on his arm and deftly administered the shot. "There you go."

Jack unrolled his sleeve and pulled it back into place. "Thanks."

Megan nodded. "No problem." She settled into the seat across the aisle from him. "I'll be right here. Let me know if you need anything." Jack nodded. Megan saw his body relaxing as the medication took hold, and knew that he would most likely be sound asleep in minutes. She watched as his eyelids dipped and closed, and his breathing slowed and deepened.

"And...he's out," Jon said with a wry smile, surveying Jack's sleeping form as he sat down in the seat next to Megan. "Good thing, too. This is a long flight. It wouldn't be fun to be hurting."

"No, it definitely wouldn't," Megan agreed. "I offered to sedate him, but he refused. I gave him some extra painkillers," she added with a smile. "He denies it, but I think he could use them. If the turbulence is anything like it was on the flight over here, he'll be glad that he slept through it."

"Ugh." Jon grimaced at the memory of their teeth-rattling journey. "I wish I could have slept through that. That wasn't a flight; that was a roller coaster ride."

Megan laughed. Her reply was interrupted by Eric Meade's voice coming over the speaker. "Hey, folks. This is your pilot speaking. We're all set here. Are you ready to go home?" A chorus of cheers rang through the cabin, and Eric laughed. "Me, too. What do you say that we get this show on the road...or in the air?" More cheers. "All right, then. We've got an eighteen- or nineteen-hour flight ahead of us, so just sit back and relax."

There were a few moments of silence, and then the plane's engines roared to life. Excited glances and smiles went through the group of eager passengers as they taxied down the runway, quickly gathering speed. Another cheer went up as the plane lifted off of the pavement and rose into the air.

Jon watched the ground below them grow smaller and smaller, until China's landscape disappeared from view entirely. With a sigh, he turned away from the window and leaned back in his seat. They were on their way home.

**-o-o-o-o-**

**Somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean**

**8:00 AM Shanghai**

**4:00 PM Los Angeles**

Slowly, sleepily, Jack stirred slightly and opened his eyes. In the seat across from him, Megan Weiss was instantly alert. "Jack?" she whispered, closing her book and sitting up. "What is it? Are you okay?" He nodded sleepily. "Can I get you anything?" Megan asked quietly, trying not to wake those around her as she slipped out of her seat and went to Jack. "More pain meds? Some water?"

"I'm not hurting," he assured her. "Some water would be nice, though." Deftly, Megan loosened the cap on a bottle of Evian water and handed it to him. With a shaking hand, he slowly reached to take the bottle. Megan held the bottle steady, supporting it, as Jack carefully raised it to his lips. He drank deeply, allowing the cool liquid to soothe his parched throat. "Thanks," he said hoarsely. Megan nodded as she replaced the cap on the bottle. "Where are we?" Jack asked as he shifted position in his seat.

Megan shrugged. The sun had long since set, making it nearly impossible to distinguish anything in the blackness surrounding them. "Somewhere above the Atlantic," she observed as the strobe-like flashing lights on the plane's wing gave her a split-second glimpse of the ocean waters that stretched below them. "We're about halfway home, I think. We've still got a long way to go, though. Why don't you try to go back to sleep?" She fluffed Jack's pillow and tucked the blanket tighter around him. "Can I get you anything else?"

He shook his head wordlessly. His eyelids were already drooping as he burrowed further into his nest of thick blankets. Satisfied, Megan returned to her seat, glancing at Jack one last time as she sat down. He was sleeping soundly now, and Megan smiled as she caught sight of the object that he was clutching in his good hand: a photograph of Audrey.

Megan leaned back in her seat and adjusted her own blankets. Resting her head against the thick pillow, she picked up her book and settled in for the remainder of the flight.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

**Los Angeles, California**

Jon McCoy sighed with relief as he stretched and yawned. After nineteen hours and approximately 6,500 miles of flying, they were on the ground in Los Angeles.

"There's no place like home," Jason Bennett remarked as he grabbed his knapsack from the pile next to the door and walked down the ramp of the plane. He sighed with relief as he stepped off of the ramp and onto the pavement. "Feels good to be on solid ground again."

"I'll second that," Mark Reese agreed as he followed Jason off of the plane. The other agents chorused their agreement as they all filed behind him.

Jon turned his attention to assisting Henry and Eric as they unceremoniously escorted Cheng Zhi and Aiguo off of the plane. When they were seated in the grass next to the tarmac, Henry resumed his all-too-familiar position of guard duty, standing over them with his pistol drawn and ready.

Meanwhile, Megan Weiss was painstakingly coaxing a still-groggy Jack Bauer down the ramp of the plane. The dose of codeine that she had given him was still strong in his system, and his movements were slow and uncoordinated as he followed her down the ramp and onto the pavement. "This way," Megan said patiently, gently guiding Jack towards a waiting ambulance. "We're going to take you back to CTU and get you all patched up so you can see Audrey, okay?" She had no idea how much of what she had just said had registered in Jack's hazy mind. She saw his bleary eyes light up, however, and figured that Audrey's name had gotten through to him even if nothing else had. With a laugh, Megan slowly led him towards the paramedics.

The medics were kind and patient as they carefully eased Jack down onto a waiting stretcher. He was still clutching the picture of Audrey, and one of the female medics shared a smile with Megan as she tucked a thick blanket around Jack's gaunt form. Quickly, efficiently, they lifted his stretcher into the ambulance. Megan climbed in alongside him, pulling the door closed behind her. When everyone was settled, the ambulance pulled away from the airfield, with the cars carrying Jon's team following closely behind. The small caravan headed towards CTU.

-o-o-o-o-

"Audrey, would you calm down?" Chloe asked, with a touch of annoyance in her voice as she watched Audrey pace back and forth in a tight circle. "You're making me anxious and on edge just watching you."

"Sorry." Audrey smiled apologetically and sank down into a chair. Seconds later, though, she got to her feet and began to pace again. "I hope they're okay. What if — "

"Audrey!" Chloe snapped. "Relax, will you? Pacing around won't make Jon's team get here any faster, you know."

Audrey sighed. "I know, I know. I'm just worried."

Chloe shook her head. "Jon knows what he's doing, or else Karen wouldn't have asked him to do this. He wouldn't try to fly back here unless he was sure that it was safe. They'll be fine. Just relax."

"Easy for you to say," Audrey said wryly.

Chloe thrust a stack of file folders into Audrey's hands. "Here. Take those to Karen." She sighed with relief as Audrey took the folders and left the room.

Bill Buchanan opened the door and poked his head inside. "How are those reports coming?"

"I just sent Audrey with a stack of them to give to Karen Hayes," Chloe told him. "Speaking of Audrey, could you find something for her to do? Find something to keep her occupied until Jon's team gets here with Jack. She's going crazy pacing around, and she's making me crazy just watching her."

Bill smiled. "I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks," Chloe told him gratefully. Bill left the room, and Chloe went back to the reports.

-o-o-o-o-

Karen was startled when her cell phone rang shrilly. Setting aside the files that Audrey had placed on her desk, she reached for the phone. "Karen Hayes."

"Hey, it's Jon." He sounded exhausted but alert. "How are things at CTU?"

"We're busy like usual. I've got Chloe and Audrey filing reports for me. Poor Audrey is like a coiled spring," Karen told him. "I made the mistake of telling her that you were on your way, and I don't think she's stopped pacing and worrying all morning. She's been watching for you."

Jon laughed. "She must not be watching right now, or she would have seen us pull into the parking lot. We're here. Go get her, and tell her to meet us in Medical."

Karen smiled. "Will do." She slipped the phone into her pocket and walked calmly out into the CTU bullpen. Then, unable to contain her excitement any longer, she broke into as fast of a run as her heeled shoes would allow. Ignoring the glances from the startled agents, Karen hurried towards Audrey's small office.

Chloe and Audrey each had a stack of files in front of them, and they were paging through the folders. Karen smiled as she noticed the exasperated expression on Chloe's face, as well as the fact that Audrey looked as though she was about to spring out of her chair. They both glanced up as Karen entered the room. "Audrey, I just spoke with Jon." Karen's smile widened. "He's here. They're bringing Jack into Medical, and Jon says for you to meet them there."

Audrey needed no further urging. She leaped from her chair, nearly knocking it over, and lunged towards the door. Chloe made another exasperated face, and Karen winked. Together, they hurried after Audrey as she dashed towards the Medical bay.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Jack watched the bright lights flash by overhead as his stretcher was wheeled down a long corridor. Megan Weiss walked quickly next to him, keeping pace with the medics pushing the stretcher, as they moved down the hallway.

They came to a stop in a brightly lit, vacant treatment room. "I'll take it from here, guys. Thanks," said a voice from somewhere behind Jack. The medics left the room, leaving only Megan standing next to the stretcher. Suddenly, Dr. Besson appeared in Jack's line of vision. "Hey, Jack. Welcome back. It's good to see you," he said earnestly. "How are you feeling? Any pain?"

"Megan gave me some codeine on the flight here," Jack told him. "I'm fine. That light hurts my eyes, though."

"Sorry." Immediately, Dr. Besson reached to dim the glaring overhead light. "There. Is that better?" Jack nodded. "Good." The doctor regarded him. "You look horrible."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Thanks." The doctor laughed slightly, but his reply was interrupted by a clatter as the door flew open and someone hurried into the room.

"Jack!"

He would recognize that voice anywhere. "Audrey?"

Suddenly, there she was, standing next to him with tears streaming down her cheeks. Her eyes widened in horror as she gingerly traced the outline of one of the large purple bruises on Jack's forehead. "My God, Jack," she whispered. "What happened?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing," Jack told her, motioning to her casted wrist and the bulky wrap bracing her ribs. "What's this? What the hell happened to you?"

Audrey grimaced. "The night that Cheng's men took you, they shot me with a tranquilizer dart. I fell down the stairs, and broke my wrist and banged up my ribs in the process. It's all right, Jack," she added quickly, seeing the angry spark that flared up in his blue eyes. "It doesn't matter."

"It does," Jack bit out.

"Not right now," Audrey said firmly. "All that matters right now is getting you to feel better." She ran her fingers over the bruise on Jack's forehead again. "You look awful."

"So I heard," Jack said dryly, motioning towards Dr. Besson.

The doctor laughed. "It's the truth, Jack. You're a mess." He raised the head of Jack's stretcher so that he was sitting up a bit. "Let's see what we're dealing with here."

"Gunshot wound to the right thigh," Megan spoke up. "His right knee is injured, and the leg has several broken bones. His right arm is broken in quite a few places. No broken ribs, as far as I could tell, but there is significant bruising and scarring. I closed the worst of the cuts with butterfly strips; those should probably be stitched. We've been keeping him well-fed and hydrated, but he's still malnourished and underweight. I wasn't able to tell if there were any internal injuries."

Dr. Besson nodded. "Thanks. All right, Jack; let's see what I can do to fix some of this mess."

Audrey stood next to Jack's stretcher for the next few hours, refusing to leave his side as his broken leg and arm were splinted and casted, his wounds were cleaned and stitched, he was taken for x-rays and a CT scan, an IV line was placed in his arm, and as the bullet was removed from his thigh and the wound stitched.

"Whew!" the doctor said at last. "That was some work. You never can make this easy on me, can you, Jack? You always have to be the one who complicates everything." He smiled as he gently placed Jack in a vacant bed and tucked the thick blankets around his gaunt form. "I'll be back to check on you later. Get some sleep." With a smile, he left the room.

Audrey was still clinging tightly to Jack's hand. "I don't want to let go," she said quietly.

Jack laughed harshly. "I'm not going anywhere." With effort, he shifted position in the bed and moved to one side. "Come here."

Audrey needed no further urging. She climbed into the bed and curled up in the narrow space that Jack had made for her. They were pressed tightly together, but Audrey didn't mind in the least. "I'm not hurting you, am I?" she asked worriedly.

Jack shook his head. "No...but it wouldn't matter."

Audrey laughed softly. "I missed you," she whispered.

Jack planted a gentle kiss on her cheek. "I missed you, too." The clinic sounds faded into the background as they wrapped their arms around each other and drifted off to sleep together.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Jon McCoy smiled slightly. The last that he had seen of Jack and Audrey, they were curled up together and sleeping soundly. Not wanting to wake them, Jon had whispered a quick goodbye into the room and silently left, pulling the door closed behind him. Now he pulled himself out of the hard plastic chair that he had been sitting in, and got to his feet. His mission here was complete. It was time to go home.

Jon strode across the bullpen and climbed the stairs to Bill Buchanan's second-floor office. He found Bill and Karen there, talking in hushed tones. They both glanced up as Jon entered the room. "Sorry to interrupt," he said apologetically. "I just wanted to let you know that I'm heading out. I'd like to get home and see my family."

"You do that," Bill said with a kind smile. "You deserve it." He came around the desk to shake Jon's hand. "I'm glad you stopped in here before leaving. I wanted to thank you for all that you did. You worked hard to bring Jack back to us, and we appreciate it very much."

Jon nodded. "I'm a soldier. We don't leave friends behind," he said solemnly.

Karen got to her feet. "I'll walk you out, Jon." He picked up his coat and followed her towards the door.

"Thank you again, Jon," Bill told him.

Jon smiled. "You're very welcome." With that, he pulled the door open and followed Karen down the stairs.

They stopped in front of the door leading out to the parking lot. Jon unclipped the temporary ID pass that he had been given and handed it to Karen. "This belongs to you. Actually," he added with a smile, "maybe I should keep it. I'd like to come back and see Jack and Audrey again, if you don't mind."

Karen laughed. "No, don't keep the pass. That's not allowed. But, yes, by all means, do come back. We'd love to have you."

Jon hesitated. "Would it be all right if I brought Erin and Morgan with me one day? I'd like Erin to meet Jack. And Morgan is crazy about Audrey. Every time we've talked, she's asked me when she'll get to see Audrey again."

Karen smiled. "That would be fine. We'd love to have them. I have a feeling that seeing Morgan would lift Jack's spirits a lot. Just let me know when you're coming, and I'll give you another one of these for the day," she said, indicating the pass card.

Jon nodded. "I'll see you soon."

"Not too soon," Karen instructed. "Spend some time with your family first."

Jon laughed. "I will. Thanks, Karen."

"Thank _you,"_ she corrected him. "Thank you for all that you did for us." She gave him a gentle push towards the door. "Now go home. I'll talk to you soon."

Laughing, Jon slipped into his coat and left the building, headed towards home and his family.

-o-o-o-o-

The drive across downtown LA seemed endless, and Jon was ready to explode with impatience. At last, after what felt like an eternity, he pulled into the driveway of their house. Erin's car was in the driveway, and Morgan's pink tricycle was in the grass next to the sidewalk. With a smile, Jon pocketed his keys and climbed out of the car.

His steps quickened as he moved up the sidewalk towards the front door, and soon he was running. He stepped into the foyer, pulling the door closed behind him. "Hey, guys, I'm home!"

There was a crash and a clatter in the kitchen, and Erin came running to meet him. "Jon!" She was laughing and crying all at once as she hugged him fiercely.

Jon returned the tight hug. "God, I missed you." As he pulled back to see Erin's face, he noticed a bright red stain splashed across the front of her pink sweater. "What's that?"

Erin looked sheepish. "When I heard you come in, I got so excited that I dropped a pot of spaghetti sauce. If you think I'm a mess, you should see the kitchen floor. Tomato sauce and mushrooms everywhere." Jon couldn't help laughing. Erin grinned as she leaned in to hug him again. "I'm so glad you're home." She pulled back reluctantly. "I don't want to get spaghetti sauce on you. Let me go change my shirt." She hugged him one last time before pulling away and heading for the stairs.

"Daddy!" Jon turned as Morgan came flying down the stairs as fast as her legs would carry her. "Daddy, you're home!"

Jon caught his daughter and swept her into his arms, making her squeal with laughter. "Hi, sweetheart." He hugged her tightly. "I missed you and Mommy so much."

"We missed you, too," Morgan said solemnly. "It was lonely without you."

Jon placed Morgan on her feet on the floor. "Guess what we're having for dinner tonight?"

"What?" Morgan asked eagerly. "It smells yummy."

"I think so, too," Jon agreed. "We're having spaghetti."

Morgan clapped her hands. "Pasketti! Yay!"

Jon smiled at her, and leaned down as if to share a secret. "Mommy got so excited to see me that she dropped spaghetti sauce all over the floor. How about you help me clean it up, and then we can make some of my special sauce?"

"Okay!" Morgan agreed. She slipped her small hand into her father's and pulled him towards the kitchen. Her eyes widened when she saw the splattered mess on the tile floor. "Wow. Mommy made a big mess."

Jon laughed. "Yeah, she sure did. Why don't you help me clean it up?" Obediently, Morgan grabbed a roll of paper towels from the cabinet, and together they cleaned up the spilled sauce.

"There, all clean," Jon announced, dropping the last sauce-covered paper towel into the trash can. He produced a large pot from the cabinet. "Can you get out the tomatoes and the garlic for me?"

Morgan went to the refrigerator, and returned carrying a handful of tomatoes. Carefully, she handed them to her father. "Here you go."

"Thanks, sweetheart." Jon smiled as he pulled a chair up next to the stove and handed Morgan a long-handled wooden spoon. "You can help me stir, okay?" Morgan agreed happily, watching patiently as Jon measured out various ingredients and added them to the waiting pot. He wrapped his hand around her smaller one, and helped her stir the sauce.

Erin came into the kitchen wearing a clean sweater minus the spilled sauce. "Smells good in here."

"I made some of my homemade sauce," Jon said as he lifted the pot off of the stove.

"I helped," Morgan informed her mother proudly as she carefully grasped the plate of garlic bread that Jon handed her.

"We're ready to eat," Jon announced, picking up the bowl of spaghetti noodles. Eagerly, Morgan and Erin followed him to the table.

"I'm glad you're home, Daddy," Morgan said happily, watching as Jon spooned spaghetti onto a child-sized plate for her.

Jon smiled as he filled his own plate. "I'm glad to be home, sweetheart. I missed you and Mommy."

Morgan swung her legs back and forth under her chair. "Did you take that man back to his friends?"

Jon nodded. "Yes, Jack is back with his friends. They were very happy to see him. I talked with Karen, and she says it would be fine for me to bring you two by CTU one day to see Jack."

Morgan bounced excitedly in her chair. "Yes, yes!" she cried. "I want to meet Jack, and I want to see Audrey again too." She glanced expectantly at her mother. "Say yes, Mommy, _please!_ Say you'll come with us!"

Erin hesitated. "Jon, I don't know... You're _sure_ that Karen said it was all right?"

Jon nodded. "I'm positive. Karen thinks that seeing Morgan would cheer Jack up, and I think you'd get along with him too."

Erin looked at her daughter's eager pleading face. "Okay. I'll come with you."

"Yippee!" Morgan cried. "When can we go?"

"Not right now," Jon said with a laugh. "I'll call Karen. We'll go sometime in the next few days." He wiped up drops of sauce that Morgan had splattered on the table. "Try to eat some more of your dinner." Obediently, Morgan went back to her spaghetti.

Jon glanced around the table, watching his wife and daughter. Erin met his gaze and smiled. Morgan giggled as she played with the spaghetti on her plate, twirling noodles with her fork. Jon smiled affectionately at her.

It was good to be home.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Karen Hayes ran a hand through her hair, sighing wearily. Things had gone from wonderful to horrible. The Chinese government had refused to acknowledge the charges against Cheng Zhi and Aiguo, and had firmly insisted that the two men be pardoned and released.

Upon hearing the news, Audrey had become hysterical. "How could you?" she raged. "Karen, Bill...how could you let them go?"

Bill met her tear-filled gaze with a grim, sober one of his own. "Audrey, we don't like it any more than you do."

"Then why did you do it?" Audrey demanded. She pointed with a shaking hand in the direction of the clinic. "Did you forget what they did to Jack? Did you forget what he looks like?"

"No, we didn't," Karen said gently. "I promise you, Audrey, we didn't. Trust me, we're just as upset as you are."

"But we're not going to do anything," Audrey shot back. "We're going to let them waltz off to China and get off scot-free for the kidnapping and torture of an American federal agent." She was trembling. "They're free to do what they want. What's to stop them from coming after Jack again? Tell me. Do you really think they're going to just sit calmly? Cheng Zhi is determined to make Jack pay for the 'crimes' that he committed. He's not going to leave Jack alone, and you know it." She glared at Karen. "It's only a matter of time before we'll have to repeat this whole process over again, and it may not go so well the second time." With that, she had stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her. Bill glanced at Karen, and silently followed Audrey out the door.

Again and again, Karen found her mind drifting back to the conversation that she had had with Jon before he boarded the plane. _"Honestly, Karen, I think you need to consider taking a more drastic means of action... Snipers; someone like Lucas Saracelli... The Chinese would never figure out who had done it. Lucas would make it look like an unfortunate accident..." _

Taking a deep breath, she picked up the phone and dialed a number.

-o-o-o-o-

The phone on his desk was ringing. He glanced at it with mild annoyance before answering. "Lucas Saracelli." His tone matched his demeanor: calm, cool, and collected.

"Lucas, this is Karen Hayes."

"Karen," he said. "You sound upset. What's wrong?"

"You might want to get some practice in at the range," was her reply. "I have a target for you."

Lucas was surprised. Karen seldom contacted him, and when she did, she was never this blunt. "Who?"

"Two targets, actually," Karen added. "Their names are Cheng Zhi and Aiguo. Cheng Zhi has a grudge against one of our agents, a man named Jack Bauer, for so-called 'crimes' against China and its government. When his original trap didn't work, he sent his men to kidnap Jack. A Delta Force team returned Jack to us a few days ago, along with Cheng and Aiguo. The Chinese government refused to acknowledge the kidnapping charges against them, and instead insisted that we release them. Their freedom poses a significant safety risk to Jack, and possibly others as well."

"Are you telling me that these two men are members of the Chinese government?" Lucas asked cautiously.

"Aiguo is a prison guard under Cheng's authority," Karen answered. "But, yes, Cheng is a fairly high-ranking government official."

"And you want me to go after them?" Lucas demanded incredulously. "Karen, are you crazy? Do you have any idea how much repercussion that would bring from the Chinese government?"

"Believe me, I know." Karen sighed. "But there really is no other option."

"Anything else I need to know?" Lucas asked, unable to keep a sarcastic edge from his voice.

"Yes, actually," Karen said grimly. "Jack was married at one point. His wife, Teri, was murdered several years ago by Nina Meyers. Due to some recent...unauthorized activities...Jack was forced to fake his death and go into hiding. His daughter, Kim, was quite shocked when she found out that he was alive. Her mother is dead, and she already lost Jack once. This time, she would lose him for real. I don't want her to be hurt again if we can help it."

Lucas heard papers rustling, and the fax machine next to his desk whirred to life. "I've just sent you the information that we have on Cheng and Aiguo," Karen informed him. "Think about it, and get back to me." With that, she hung up the phone.

Lucas spent almost two hours poring over the pages and thinking. When he finally called Karen back, he spoke only three words. "I'll do it."


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

"Daddy? Daddy, are you awake?" Jon McCoy woke to a voice whispering loudly in his ear and a hand shaking him insistently.

He opened his eyes to find Morgan leaning over him. "Morgan? What's the matter?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to make sure you're awake. We should hurry, Daddy! What if Karen and everybody leaves before we get there?" Morgan asked worriedly.

Jon made a sound that was somewhere between a laugh and a sigh. "We're not going until this afternoon, sweetheart. I know you're excited, but it's way too early for you to be up." He stroked his daughter's hair. "Daddy just got back from a long trip, and I'm very tired. I need to sleep for a while longer, okay?" Morgan nodded reluctantly. "Where's Mommy?" Jon asked her.

"Downstairs in the living room," Morgan answered. "I didn't wake her up," she added hastily. "She waked up on her own. She's watching TV."

"Well, why don't you go watch TV with her?" Jon suggested gently. "Or go play in your room for a little while. I need to sleep some more."

"Okay," Morgan said reluctantly. "Sorry, Daddy."

"It's fine, honey," Jon assured her. "Go play. I'll get up in a little while." Morgan nodded agreeably, and quietly left the room. With a tired laugh, Jon burrowed under the covers and drifted off to sleep again.

-o-o-o-o-

When Jon woke again, the clock on the bedside table informed him that it was 12:05. "Morgan will have a fit if I'm not up soon," he muttered. Yawning, he sat up and swung his feet over the side of the bed. With a sigh, he slid out of bed and headed into the bathroom to take a shower.

"Hey, sleepyhead," Erin greeted him when he came downstairs. "We saved some breakfast for you. Your plate's keeping warm in the oven."

Jon retrieved the plate of French toast, and sat down at the table to eat. As he did, he glanced at Morgan. She was gazing intently at the clock on the kitchen wall, trying to read it. "Okay, I get the message," Jon laughed. "I'll hurry. While I'm eating, why don't you go get dressed?"

Morgan needed no further urging. She sprang off of the couch and dashed for the stairs. Jon laughed as he heard her bare feet hitting the floor. "I think somebody's a little excited about our trip to CTU today."

Erin shook her head. "I guess I should go get ready, then." With a laugh, she followed Morgan up the stairs.

-o-o-o-o-

Half an hour later, Jon descended the stairs and came to stand next to the coat closet in the foyer. "Is everyone ready to go?"

"I am," Morgan called back. "Mommy's taking a million years, though."

Erin's voice drifted from the upstairs bathroom. "I am not!" She was laughing. "I'm almost ready. I just need to finish getting dressed."

Jon shook his head. "Morgan, come here," he called out. "Let Mommy finish getting ready."

Morgan bounded down the stairs, taking them two at a time. She was dressed in a t-shirt emblazoned with the American flag, a denim skirt, and sandals. "Do I look pretty, Daddy?"

"You look very pretty," Jon told her. "The flag was a good choice for today."

Morgan was clutching a piece of blue construction paper, and she proudly held it out to show off her handiwork. "I made a card for Jack."

Jon knelt down to her level to examine the card. Morgan had drawn a stick figure with zigzag yellow hair and a large red smile. In crooked crayon letters, she had written "GET WEL SON JACK." Underneath the writing, several Band-Aids had been taped to the paper. "So his owies can feel better," Morgan announced.

Jon smiled. "That was very nice of you. I think Jack will like your card a lot." Morgan beamed proudly.

Erin came down the stairs, pulling her hair into a ponytail as she walked. "Sorry for the wait," she teased. "I'm ready. We can go now." Morgan immediately bolted towards the front door. "Wait!" Erin called after her. "Put a jacket on first!" Her only answer was the front door slamming as Morgan dashed down the sidewalk to the driveway. With a shrug and a laugh, Jon and Erin hurried after her.

Morgan was bouncing in her seat with impatience as Jon and Erin climbed into the car. "Hurry," she said eagerly. "Let's go, let's go!"

"You sound like my old military drill instructor," Jon teased, making Morgan giggle. He slid into the driver's seat and started the car. "Okay, Miss Impatience. We can go now." Shaking his head, he backed the van down the driveway, and they set off for CTU.


	30. Chapter 30

_A/N: I'm back! Wow, these past two weeks have been insane. I spent a week in Colorado with my church youth group. That was incredible. A week in the mountains, with over 200 other students, worshiping and praising Jesus. I also went white-water rafting for the very first time!! That was an absolute blast. Our guide was great, and the ride was amazing. We got soaking wet and the water was freezing, but we had a great time. Our guide was hilarious, and he had us in hysterics. We sang worship songs for almost the entire ride, while we enjoyed Colorado's BEAUTIFUL scenery. _

_The day after I got back from Colorado, I turned around and went to Kansas for a CSI forensics camp. That was fun. We learned about interviewing, collecting evidence, taking notes at a crime scene, criminal profiling, and a ton of other stuff. On the second-to-last day, we had a mock crime scene involving a murder that we had to solve. The winning team went to "trial" on the last day. My team won, so we got to go to trial. That was...interesting. I was the very first person called to testify, and it was my first time doing anything like this. The defense attorney completely destroyed me. It was really bad, LOL! I survived though, and our suspect ended up receiving a guilty verdict. Yay!_

_So, that's where I've been for the past two weeks. I didn't drop off the face of the planet, I promise. I got some writing done on the ten-hour drive home, so here's another chapter for you._

Chapter 30

Karen leaned against the windowsill, watching the parking lot outside closely. "Dr. Besson," she called out, seeing the doctor hurrying past her.

He stopped. "Yes?"

"It's a little late to be asking this," Karen said apologetically, "but is Jack Bauer up to having visitors?"

"I think so," the doctor said carefully. "As long as there aren't too many people, and as long as they're careful not to wear him out, he should be fine. I think it would cheer him up." He strode away, back to the clinic, and Karen went back to watching the parking lot.

Several minutes later, a dark blue minivan pulled into the parking lot. With a smile, Karen collected three temporary ID passes, and went outside to meet them.

Morgan scrambled out of the van and ran to Karen, chattering excitedly. Jon and Erin followed, more slowly, and Jon caught Karen's gaze and laughed. "She was like this for the entire trip over here. She's very excited."

"That's understandable," Karen said, addressing both Morgan and Jon. She knelt down to Morgan's level. "Hi, kiddo. Guess what I have for you?"

"What?" Morgan asked excitedly.

Karen held up the ID passes. "You get to wear one of these today. Your mom and dad get one, too. They're very special passes that let everyone know that you're visiting CTU today." Morgan's eyes widened as Karen clipped the temporary pass to her shirt. "It's very important that you don't take this off or lose it," Karen said seriously. "We'd all get in big trouble if you did."

Morgan nodded solemnly. "I'll be careful."

Karen ruffled her hair. "I know you will." She got to her feet and took Morgan's hand. "Let's go inside."

Morgan kept her hand tucked firmly inside Karen's, skipping eagerly alongside her as they made their way into the building. She gazed around the bullpen with wide eyes, looking at the large TV screens on the wall, the desks covered with important-looking papers, and the people hurrying around in all different directions. "Wow," she whispered.

Karen laughed. "It's a pretty neat place, isn't it?"

Morgan could only nod as she continued to stare at her surroundings. Somewhat shyly, she lifted a hand and waved at the agents scattered across the floor. They looked perplexed to see a child inside CTU, but most of them smiled and waved back at her.

Karen led Jon, Erin, and Morgan through the bustling maze of desks and people, and down the hallway to the Medical bay. "Let me check with Audrey and see how Jack's feeling," she said. She slipped into the room, pulling the door closed behind her.

Jon placed a hand on Morgan's shoulder and waited until she looked up at him. "Remember what I told you," he said quietly. "This is like a hospital. People in here are sick or hurt, and they need to rest so they can get better. You need to be very quiet."

Morgan nodded solemnly. "Okay."

Karen poked her head out of the room. "Audrey says it's fine. Come on in." She held the door open and allowed them to follow her into the room.

Audrey was sitting in a chair next to Jack's bed, paging through a folder of paperwork. She glanced up as Jon, Erin, and Morgan entered the room. "Hi, Audrey!" Morgan said excitedly, letting go of her father's hand to wave.

Audrey smiled. "Hi there, Morgan." She knelt down to give the child a quick hug.

Jon sat down in a chair on the other side of Jack's bed. "How do you feel?"

"Like crap," Jack said dryly. "I look like it, too."

Jon laughed. "The bandages and stitches are a little _Frankenstein-_esque, but you actually don't look too bad."

Jack noticed Morgan watching him. "Please tell me that my Frankenstein look isn't going to give your daughter nightmares, Jon."

Morgan shook her head. "You're not scary," she assured him. She let go of her father's hand and approached the bed. "My name's Morgan."

"Nice to meet you, Morgan. I'm Jack." Jack playfully shook the young girl's hand. "Your dad told me a lot about you and your mom."

"Oh, he did? Just what did he tell you?" Erin asked curiously.

"He told me that you're a great wife and mother," Jack said. "And that you're smart and beautiful." Erin snorted scornfully, making Jon laugh. "And he said that you, Morgan, are a big girl, and that you're very pretty and very smart."

"Daddy told us a lot about you, too," Morgan informed Jack. "He said that you're strong, and smart, and brave...and he used another word that I forgot." Her brow furrowed. "I think it starts with a P."

"Patriot," Jon and Audrey said in unison.

Jack smiled slightly. "Thank you."

"This is for you," Morgan told him, holding out the card that she had made.

Jack took the card from her and examined it closely, smiling as he read the message written in Morgan's childish, crooked crayon printing. "Is this me?" he asked, pointing to the tall stick figure that Morgan had drawn.

She nodded. "And these are for your owies, so they can get better," she explained, pointing to the Band-Aids that had been taped to the paper.

"That was very nice of you," Jack told her. "I like it a lot. I'm going to put it right here so I can see it." With effort, he leaned over to place the card against the lamp on the bedside table. "There."

The next two hours passed in a blur of laughter and conversation. Jack chatted with Morgan about everything from hospitals to classroom pets to ice cream flavors, and held conversations with Jon, Erin, and Audrey as well. Karen leaned against the wall next to the door and watched quietly, smiling as she listened to Morgan's giggles and the playful banter and conversation.

Audrey was the first to notice the pinched, pained lines around Jack's mouth, as well as his grimace as he shifted position in the bed. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," he grunted. "I just moved a little too fast." Audrey knew better, however, and despite Jack's feeble protest, she located the nurse call button and pressed it.

Instead of a nurse, Dr. Besson was the one who came through the door with a syringe in his hand. "Jack, will you ever learn that you don't always have to be Mr. Tough Guy?" he asked mildly. "If you're in pain, tell somebody. That's what painkillers are for." Quickly, skillfully, he screwed the hollow-tipped syringe into Jack's IV line and injected the medication into the tubing. "There. If you need anything else, call somebody. I mean it." With that stern instruction, he tucked the blankets tighter around Jack's gaunt form and left the room, pulling the door closed behind him.

In minutes, the pinched, pained lines on Jack's face smoothed, and his breathing eased as the medication took hold. "I think we'll go now and let you get some sleep," Jon said quietly, getting to his feet.

"Thank you for coming," Jack said earnestly. "I really appreciate it."

Jon nodded. "You're very welcome. I'll try to stop by again when you're feeling a little better." With that, he and his family quietly followed Karen out of the room.

Jack gazed at Morgan's colorfully drawn card and drifted off to sleep with a smile on his lips.


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

The next afternoon, Dr. Besson entered the room followed by a doctor that neither Jack nor Audrey recognized. He was tall, with blond hair and a friendly smile. "This is a friend of mine, Dr. Craig Holcomb," Dr. Besson said. "He's an orthopedic surgeon, and I asked him to take a look at some of your injuries, Jack."

"Good...luck." Jack's voice was slow and heavy with sleep and the after-effects of painkillers. "You'll...need it." He motioned to his battered body. "This...is a real...piece...of work."

Dr. Holcomb laughed. "I've dealt with some pretty tough cases, and I haven't come across anything I couldn't handle." He rummaged in the cabinet and produced a thick blanket. "I need to get a look at some of those war wounds, but the last thing we need is for you to be cold." He gently wrapped the blanket around Jack's thin, gaunt form. "Comfy?"

Jack nodded as he pulled the blanket tighter around his shoulders. "Thanks."

"No problem." As gently as possible, the doctor helped Jack shift position in the bed. As he did so, Jack's wrinkled scrub top slid up a bit, displaying a horrific array of scars and deep, ugly gashes.

Audrey was unable to stifle a startled cry. Even in the treatment room that first day, the doctors had been careful to keep as much of Jack's injuries covered as they possibly could. Now, however, Audrey was able to see the full extent of the damage that had been done. "My God, Jack, what did they do to you?"

"A lot," Jack grunted. Audrey's eyes filled with tears, and she raised a hand to her mouth to stifle a sob. "Don't...look at...me," Jack ordered. "Don't want...you...to see...this."

Audrey swallowed hard. "It's fine. I'm fine."

"No." Jack shook his head and beckoned to Dr. Besson, who had been standing quietly off to the side. "Get her...out...of here," he said firmly. "She...doesn't need...to...see this."

"No," Audrey replied, just as firmly. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Audrey," Jack pleaded. "Please...just go."

"No!" Audrey snapped angrily. "Jack, I'm not going anywhere!"

Jack motioned to Dr. Besson. "Please...get her...out...of here..._now."_

The doctor nodded. "Come on, Audrey," he said gently, taking hold of her arm. "Come with me." Audrey struggled wildly, resisting as he gently but firmly led her towards the door. Dr. Besson was far stronger than she was, however, and he half-led and half-pulled her out the door and into the hallway. "There," he said quietly, nudging the door closed with his foot.

Audrey glanced pleadingly at him. "Why?" she asked desperately. "Why would Jack do that?"

Dr. Besson hesitated. "Jack has always been an independent, take-charge sort of person. Then, suddenly, all of that is taken away. He's snatched up and dumped into a living hell of a prison, where they do unimaginable things to him for months. When he's finally freed, he winds up in a hospital bed with tubes and wires everywhere, and doctors doing all sorts of things to him. For you to see him like that was the final straw. All privacy and all dignity were completely gone." He glanced sideways at Audrey. "Also, he's trying to protect you. He doesn't want you to have to think about him like this. He doesn't want you to be hurt. Does that make sense?"

Audrey nodded. "Yes. Thank you."

"You're welcome." The doctor smiled apologetically at her, and then quietly stepped back into the room and closed the door behind him.

Alone in the hallway, Audrey leaned her head against the cool cement wall and wept.

-o-o-o-o-

After what felt like an eternity, Dr. Holcomb poked his head out the door. "Audrey," he said quietly. "I'm finished. You can come in now." Taking a deep breath, Audrey followed him into the room.

She breathed a sigh of relief to see that Jack's injuries were once again covered with blankets. Dr. Holcomb smiled sympathetically at her as he sat down in a chair next to Jack's bed. "I've looked at your x-rays, Jack," he said, "and, from what I can see, your right leg and arm sustained the most damage. The bones aren't broken; they're shattered." He heard Audrey's sharp intake of breath. "Some of the breaks should heal on their own over time. I'm going to need to fix some of the others."

"Fix them how?" Audrey asked quietly.

"Surgery," Dr. Holcomb told her. He traced several spots on the x-ray films that were clipped to a lighted board on the wall. "It looks like I have a lot of work to do," he said with a wry smile. "To answer your question, Audrey, I'll realign the bones as best as I can, and piece them back together with plates and pins."

Audrey grimaced, but Jack nodded in consent. "Do it," he said simply.

Dr. Holcomb glanced at him. "You understand that this isn't a magic fix-it cure, don't you? I'll take care of the surgery, but you have to help me out. Recovery is going to be long and hard. You'll be spending quite a bit of time in physical therapy. Are you willing to work?"

Jack nodded. "Yes."

"I thought so," Dr. Holcomb told him, "but I wanted to make sure. Now, you have a decision to make. I have a clinic not far from here. Would you like me to bring my team here to CTU, or would you like to go to the clinic?"

"Clinic," Jack said instantly. "If I'm...going to be...cooped...up...for as...long as...you say, I need...a...change...of scenery." He glanced at Audrey. "Is...that...okay with...you?"

Audrey hesitated. "Do you think we could send a security team with you?" she asked hesitantly. Jack's eyebrows arched. "We don't know who's out there," Audrey said helplessly. "You're protected here. At the clinic..." Her voice trailed off.

"We have security guards," Dr. Holcomb assured her. "Jack will be protected. But I agree that some extra watching eyes couldn't hurt. I'll talk to Bill Buchanan and see if he can send a few people with us." Audrey nodded, satisfied.

Dr. Holcomb got to his feet. "All right, then. I'll talk with my teams, and we'll start making arrangements."

TBC


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

**FIVE DAYS LATER**

Jack woke to a hand gently shaking him out of his slumber. Groggily, he opened one eye to see who had intruded on his sleep. "What….?"

"Sorry to wake you," Dr. Holcomb said apologetically. "But a transport team is going to be walking through that door in about two minutes to get you ready for the trip to my clinic, so it's time for you to rise and shine."

Jack frowned in confusion. _Transport team? Clinic?_ Then he remembered the discussion about treatment options, and nodded. With effort, he pulled himself into a sitting position.

Voices drifted into the room from the hallway, and four paramedics appeared in the doorway with a stretcher in tow. "You must be Jack," a tall, red-haired man said with a friendly smile. "I'm Sam, and these are Daniel, Brandon, and Lisa."

Working quickly but gently, they lifted Jack from his bed and placed him on the stretcher, blankets and all. They settled him on the stretcher and tucked the blankets tighter around his thin form. "All right," Lisa announced. "We're ready to roll."

"Audrey," Jack rasped.

"I'm right here, Jack," she spoke up, hurrying into the room. "Bill told me that they were moving you."

"Perfect timing," Dr. Holcomb told her. "We're ready to go. All right, people, let's get this show on the road!"

Audrey fell into step next to the stretcher, reaching between the bars on the railing to take Jack's hand in hers. She kept pace with the medics as they wheeled Jack's stretcher out of the room and down the hallway. As they crossed the bullpen, several agents paused to call out to Jack, wishing him luck and safety.

Audrey, Dr. Holcomb, and the transport team were grouped together like an odd sort of parade as they made their way outside to the parking lot where an ambulance waited. Quickly, skillfully, the team lifted Jack's stretcher into the back of the ambulance. Dr. Holcomb climbed in after him, followed closely by Audrey. Lisa and Daniel took seats across from them.

Lisa attached a syringe to Jack's IV line. "This will make the trip a little more comfortable for you." She deftly emptied the contents of the syringe into the IV tubing. "There we go. Sam, Brandon, we're all set back here," she said over her shoulder.

The ambulance made its way out of the parking lot and began its journey towards Dr. Holcomb's clinic.

-o-o-o-o-

Lisa glanced out the window as the ambulance turned a corner. "Here we are," she announced cheerfully.

Jack had slept comfortably through the drive to the clinic, and he was just beginning to stir. "Wake up, sleepyhead," Audrey said with a smile, gently brushing a wayward strand of Jack's dark blond hair off of his forehead. "We're at Dr. Holcomb's clinic. Rise and shine."

"Mmphh," Jack mumbled groggily. One blue eye opened a crack as he peered sleepily at his surroundings. With a grunt, he rolled over and buried his head in the pillow, closing his eyes again.

Daniel laughed. "I think that's a definite sign for, 'Go away and let me sleep,' " he observed. "Oh, well, let him sleep. He could use the rest."

Suddenly, the rear doors opened, and they found themselves face-to-face with Sam and Brandon. "How about giving me a hand here?" Daniel requested. Together, they lifted Jack's stretcher out of the ambulance and down onto the pavement. Audrey followed closely behind as they made their way across the parking lot towards the clinic.

The brick building was large, with an immaculately kept lawn and flowers lining the sidewalks. Once inside the door, Audrey discovered that the interior of the building was just as impressive as the exterior. The large, airy rooms were spotless and brightly lit, and the walls were painted with warm, vibrant colors.

The transport team easily navigated their way through a winding maze of long hallways until they arrived in an empty room. "Here we are, Jack," Dr. Holcomb announced. "Home away from home." The walls were pastel blue, and a picture of a sunlit beach hung over the bed. The curtains had been pushed aside, and the room was awash in sunlight. It was still a hospital room, but it was cheerful and welcoming.

With ease, the team transferred Jack from his stretcher to the waiting bed. "There," Sam said with a smile. "You take care now, Jack." Jack nodded, and the four paramedics left the room.

The dose of painkillers that Lisa had given Jack before they left CTU was still strong in his system, and his eyelids were drooping. "We'll let you rest and get settled in today, Jack," Dr. Holcomb told him, "but tomorrow my team is going to need to run some tests to figure out how to help you." Jack nodded groggily. "All right, then." Dr. Holcomb smiled at him. "Get some sleep."


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

**ONE WEEK LATER**

Audrey smiled as she walked briskly past the nurses' station and down the long hallway towards Jack's room. By now, the clinic staff had gotten used to seeing her in the hallways around Jack's room, and they smiled back at her as she passed.

Dr. Holcomb met her outside of Jack's room. "Did you go home last night like I told you?" he greeted her.

Audrey nodded. "Yes." She had spent the past several nights on a fold-out chair in Jack's room, until the doctor had firmly ordered her to go home and get some uninterrupted sleep.

"Have you eaten yet today?" Dr. Holcomb asked.

"Yes," Audrey told him. Anticipating his next question, she added, "I had a bagel and some fruit."

"Good." Dr. Holcomb nodded, satisfied. He smiled. "I ask you that every morning because I know exactly what will happen if I don't. You'll completely forget to eat. And I know for a fact that those pull-out chairs aren't comfortable at all, and that patients' families don't sleep a wink when they lay on them. That's why I sent you home. If you forget to eat and you don't get enough sleep, you'll get sick. I have my hands full already with my patients; I don't need to deal with their sick family members as well."

Audrey couldn't help laughing. "I appreciate your concern."

"Well, good. And too bad if you don't," the doctor told her. "I'm still going to keep it up." He held the door open for her. "The surgical team will be here in a few minutes to get Jack prepped for surgery. You're welcome to wait with him."

Jack glanced up as Audrey and the doctor entered the room. "You're up early, Audrey."

Audrey motioned towards Dr. Holcomb. "He kicked me out last night, and told me to go home and get some sleep. None too kindly, I might add," she said wryly. "I got here as early as I could."

"The surgical team will be in in a few minutes to get you ready for surgery, Jack," Dr. Holcomb told him. "We'll get you all patched up. Sort of like Humpty Dumpty."

"Except they couldn't fix Humpty Dumpty," Audrey pointed out.

"You're right," Dr. Holcomb said with a laugh. "Not a good example. Okay, so you _won't_ be like Humpty Dumpty, Jack. We'll put you back together again, good as new. The 

surgical team will get you all ready, and then they'll bring you into the operating room. I'll see you there." He smiled at both Jack and Audrey, and left the room.

Audrey picked up the TV remote. "While we wait for them, do you want to watch TV?"

Jack glanced at the clock. "I highly doubt that there's much worth watching at five o'clock in the morning, but you can try to find something if you want." Audrey flipped past the commercials, infomercials, and sitcoms, and finally settled on a news channel. She sat down in the recliner next to Jack's bed, and together they quietly watched the weather and the morning news report.

"Any good news this morning?" a voice by the door asked. Startled, Audrey turned to find a team of technicians dressed in surgical scrubs standing in the doorway. The person who had spoken was a man with dark hair, a salt-and-pepper beard, and a smiling cartoon frog on the pocket of his green scrub top. "I'm Dr. Brad Wagner, the anesthesiologist. Also known as the 'sleep doctor'," he added with a smile. "We're here to get you prepped and ready for surgery."

With effort, Jack pulled himself upright into a sitting position and shook the hands of the doctors and technicians as they introduced themselves to him and Audrey one by one.

"I see that you've already got an IV line in, so I won't need to do that," Dr. Wagner said as he inspected Jack's IV. "That's one less thing to worry about." He motioned to the technicians standing behind him. "This is the transport team. They're ready to take you into the operating room."

One of the technicians, a young woman with red hair and sparkling green eyes, stepped forward. "We're going to move you onto a stretcher, Jack. On the count of three." Together, the team lifted Jack from the bed, blankets and all, and settled him on the narrow stretcher. "There, we're all set. All right, let's roll."

Audrey, who had been sitting next to Jack's bed and quietly watching the team of technicians, fell into step next to the stretcher as it moved through the doorway and out into the hallway. With a smile, she reached between the bars on the railing to take Jack's hand. She kept pace with the technicians as they moved through the long, brightly lit hallways.

"This is as far as you can go, Ms. Heller," the red-haired young woman said over her shoulder as they came to a stop in front of a set of metal doors.

Audrey gave Jack's hand a gentle squeeze. "I'll be right next to you when you wake up in the Recovery room," she said. With effort, Jack sat up slightly and kissed her lightly on the cheek.

Audrey stepped back against the wall, watching as the doors ahead of them swung open and Jack was wheeled into the pre-operations room. Now there was nothing for her to do except wait. With a sigh, she walked back the way she had come.



-o-o-o-o-

Jack surveyed his surroundings as his stretcher was wheeled into the spotless, brightly lit pre-operations room. The walls and the floor were sterile white, and the floor tiles glinted in the glare of the overhead lights. The room was a whirlwind of activity, with doctors, nurses, and technicians rushing to and fro. Monitors and equipment lined the walls, and two nurses quickly and deftly attached Jack to several of the machines.

Dr. Wagner appeared in Jack's line of vision, wearing a cap and mask. He held up a syringe. "I'm going to put this into your IV line, Jack. It's just a little something to help you relax. You're going to start feeling sleepy in a few minutes." Jack craned his neck to watch as the doctor slid the syringe into his IV line. He followed the liquid with his eyes as it traveled through the length of the plastic tubing and dripped into his arm. "There," Dr. Wagner said with a nod. "Now we'll wait a minute for that to take effect."

In seconds, Jack felt the medication beginning to take hold. It was numbing his mind as well as his body, and he was slowly growing drowsy. He felt as though he was floating as he was lifted—blankets and all—from the stretcher and onto the cool, hard metal operating table. A large bright light hung over the table, and Jack stared up at it as Dr. Wagner slipped a plastic mask over his nose and mouth. "This is the other anesthetic, the sleeping gas. I know it smells weird, but try to relax. Take a few deep breaths," he instructed. Jack did as requested; taking three deep, even breaths. "Good. Now, just breathe normally. Relax; let it do its work."

The medication was making Jack woozy; everything was muffled and sounded as though it was being broadcasted through a tape recorder that was playing in slow motion. He felt himself drifting into a hazy fog. His vision blurred, the room spun, and everything descended into darkness.

-o-o-o-o-

Audrey sighed as she made her way down the hallway leading to Jack's now-empty room. As she drew closer to the room, a figure emerged from the elevator at the end of the hallway and approached her.

"Dad?" Audrey said in surprise. "What are you doing here?" Then she noticed that he wasn't alone. "Karen? Bill? What are you all doing here?"

"We came to keep you company," Karen told her with a smile. "I know how nerve-wracking this is, just sitting and waiting for news. It's enough to drive you crazy. We thought we'd wait with you."

"Thank you," Audrey told her earnestly. "I appreciate that. Jack just went into surgery, so there's nothing for me to do except wait. I could use some company."

Karen motioned to the empty room in front of them. "There's no point in hanging around in here. Why don't we go to the lounge? There's a TV and some magazines, and the chairs are more comfortable," she added with a laugh.

"Sounds good to me," Audrey said with a shrug. "I certainly don't have any better ideas." Together, the four of them headed towards the visitors' lounge to wait.

TBC


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

"What's taking so long?" Audrey asked anxiously. "Dr. Holcomb said two hours, and it's been three and a half." She crossed her arms over her chest as she paced back and forth in a tight circle next to the window. (Dr. Carlson had removed the bulky wrap bracing her ribs and the cast on her wrist the afternoon before. It was a relief to be able to move freely again.)

"That was just a rough estimate," her father reminded her. "Surgeries always take longer than expected." He slid an arm around her shoulders and gently led her towards the couch. "Sit down, sweetheart. I'm sure everything's fine. Dr. Holcomb would let us know if something was wrong."

Audrey sighed heavily as she sank down onto the couch and glanced at the clock on the wall. "This is nerve-wracking. I'm going to go crazy if we have to wait much longer."

"Personally, I'm dying for some caffeine," Karen said with a laugh. "For whatever reason, there isn't any coffee in here. Would you like to come with me to the cafeteria, Audrey?"

"Yes, she would," Heller said firmly, nudging his daughter off of the couch. "Thank you, Karen. Go on, Audie," he added. "A walk will do you good. I'll come get you if there's any news."

"Can we get anything for either of you?" Karen asked.

Heller shook his head, but Bill nodded. "I'd like a cherry Danish, if there are any."

Karen nodded. "Cherry it is. Come on, Audrey." Reluctantly, Audrey followed Karen out of the room and down the hallway to the elevator.

In the cafeteria, Karen made a beeline for the coffee machine, pausing to pick up two Danishes. "Would you like anything?" she asked.

"I'm too anxious to eat," Audrey replied dryly, but she selected a blueberry muffin and a small cup of coffee. "Come on, let's go see if there's been any news." She hurriedly paid for her items and rushed from the room. Laughing, Karen hurried after her.

"Any news?" Audrey asked as they came back into the lounge. Her father shook his head, and Audrey sighed. "I'm going to go crazy."

Karen rummaged in the small paper bag that she carried and produced two pastries. "Here you go," she said, handing Bill one of them. "One cherry Danish, as requested."

"Thank you." He accepted the pastry and a napkin.

Karen sat down next to Audrey at the small table in the corner of the room and began to eat her Danish. Audrey unwrapped her muffin, but couldn't bring herself to eat it. Finally, she broke it into miniscule pieces and slowly ate them one by one.

Just as she finished the last small bite, Dr. Holcomb appeared in the doorway. Audrey leaped to her feet, bumping the small table and sending her coffee cup flying. With a laugh, Karen caught the empty cup and tossed it into the trash can. "Sorry," Audrey exclaimed. "Dr. Holcomb, how's Jack?"

The doctor looked exhausted as he motioned to the couch. "Why don't we sit down?"

Audrey felt the blood drain from her face. "Something's happened." Her voice rose in panic. "What is it? What's wrong?"

Dr. Holcomb smiled tiredly. "Nothing's wrong, Audrey. I just want to sit down. I've been on my feet for the past three hours, and I'm tired."

Audrey ran a hand over her face. "I'm sorry. I-I've just been so worried, and — "

Dr. Holcomb met her gaze. "I know you're worried," he said gently. "But you can relax. Jack's just fine. The surgery went wonderfully." He sank down next to her on the couch. "I had to do a lot more work than I had originally thought, but everything's fine. Jack is out of surgery and in the Recovery room. They'll bring him back to his room after the edge has worn off on the anesthetic. You can wait for him there."

Audrey nodded. "Thank you," she said earnestly.

The doctor smiled. "You're very welcome." He got to his feet. "I'll come by later to check on Jack and talk more with you."

Audrey exhaled hard, releasing a breath that she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Her father slid an arm around her shoulders, and the four of them headed back to Jack's room to wait for him.

-o-o-o-o-

After what felt like an eternity, soft footsteps could be heard in the hallway. One of the nurses on duty that morning, a dark-haired and cheerful young woman named Brooke, poked her head into the room. "Agent Bauer is out of Recovery," she said quietly. "They'll be bringing him in here in a few minutes."

"Is he awake?" Audrey asked eagerly. "Can we talk to him?"

"No, I'm afraid not." Brooke shook her head. "He's sleeping. He woke up for a few minutes in the Recovery room, but he went back to sleep again pretty quickly." A team of nurses and technicians appeared in the doorway behind her, pushing a stretcher.

Audrey's breath caught in her throat as she caught sight of the limp, motionless form wrapped in blankets. "Is he….will he…."

Brooke nodded. "I know it doesn't look like it, but he's fine. Anesthesia really does a number on your body, and it takes a while to fully wear off. For now, sleep is the best thing for him." Slowly, gently, the team transferred Jack from the stretcher to the waiting bed. Brooke fussed over him for a few moments, fluffing the pillows and tucking the blankets tighter around his motionless, unresponsive sleeping form. "There," she said quietly. "Nice and comfy."

The red-haired nurse from earlier (Audrey now noticed that the nametag clipped to her shirt read _"Maggie"_) wrote something on Jack's chart. "We'll take care of Jack and keep an eye on him. Can I get anything for any of you?"

Karen shook her head. "No, thank you."

"Blankets and pillows are in here," Maggie said, pointing to a drawer in the cabinet next to Jack's bed. "There's a vending machine at the end of the hallway, and there's food available any time of the day or night in the cafeteria."

"There are Popsicles and ice cream in the freezer in the third-floor lounge," Brooke added with a wink.

Everyone laughed. "Thank you," Audrey said gratefully. "Thanks for taking such good care of Jack, and of us."

The nurses smiled. "No problem," Brooke told her. "It's what we're here for. Let someone know if you need anything."

Audrey sank into a chair next to the bed, taking Jack's uninjured hand in hers. She leaned back in the hard plastic chair and silently watched him sleep, waiting for him to wake up.


	35. Chapter 35

_A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! And, yay, a new reader and reviewer! Welcome to the madness of my crazy mind, __**Kirinke. **__I'm glad you're enjoying the story. Cheng escaping….hmm, that's an intriguing possibility. I think poor Jack has suffered enough, but we'll have to see. I'll see what my muse comes up with. :) _

_My birthday is in 3 days, on July 23. I'm going to be turning 17! Please read and review; your reviews are a great birthday present._

_Enjoy this latest chapter. A brief break from the drama and suspense, a little fluffy fun._

Chapter 35

**FOUR DAYS LATER**

For Jack, the three days following his surgery passed in a blurry haze of pain, semi-consciousness, and heavy, drugged sleep. He was dimly aware of nurses coming in and out of the room to change his bandages and fiddle with the myriad of wires and tubing that he was attached to, and of Audrey patiently feeding him weak broth and slivers of ice, but everything else ran together in a murky fog.

On the morning of the fourth day, he woke feeling the best that he had since the surgery. The pain that had consumed his waking hours had settled into a dull ache that was noticeable but tolerable, and the murky, foggy haze left by painkillers and remnants of anesthetic had finally lifted. He was awake, alert, and clear-headed. Slowly, painstakingly, he pulled himself to a sitting position.

The door opened slowly, silently, and Audrey tiptoed into the room. Karen, Bill, and Heller were right behind her, and they nearly ran into one another as she stopped in her tracks. "You're awake! How do you feel?"

"Good enough," Jack told her. "I'm not in much pain." He glanced beyond her to Karen and Bill. "Karen? What are you doing here?" he asked in surprise. "I thought you would be back at Division by now."

"They'll have to do without me for the foreseeable future," Karen told him. "I told them that I was going to continue working with CTU for the time being."

"Sounds good to me," Bill said with a gentle smile. Karen blushed slightly and shook her head. "Welcome back, Jack," Bill added. "It's good to see you awake. I'm glad you're feeling better."

Audrey went to the cabinet in the corner of the room and opened one of the drawers. "That's odd," she remarked. "I thought the nurses said there were blankets in here." She displayed her find: a drawer stuffed full of board games.

"The other drawer," her father told her. Gratefully, Audrey opened the correct drawer and pulled out a thick blanket, wrapping it tightly around her shoulders.

Karen opened the drawer of games and surveyed its contents. "Here's Monopoly, Scrabble, checkers, Sorry….oh, and Battleship! I haven't played that in years!"

"I'll play Battleship with you," Bill told her. Eagerly, Karen pulled the game from the drawer and sat down at the small table in the corner of the room.

"Is there a chess board in there?" Jack asked.

Audrey pawed through the assortment of games and shook her head. "Nope."

"No?" Jack said incredulously. "What's the matter with these people? How can they not have a chess board?" Audrey shrugged and laughed. "Karen, Bill, I'll play whoever wins," Jack told them. They nodded, and Jack turned his attention to the drawer of games. "Audrey, do you want to play Sorry?" With a grin, she nodded.

Together, the five of them settled in comfortably with various games.

"Quinn, want to join us?" Audrey called out, speaking to the security guard stationed just outside the door.

Marcus Quinn laughed. "No, thanks. Looks like fun, but I don't want to get in trouble for not doing my job. I'll watch you all play." Audrey nodded, and turned her attention back to the game in front of her.

"Dammit," Karen groaned suddenly as Bill triumphantly took down most of her ship fleet.

For some reason, the frustrated comment struck Audrey as funny. Her smile turned into a snicker, and the snicker into an outright laugh. In a few moments, she was nearly helpless with laughter. Everyone else quickly joined her.

"What's so funny?" Audrey gasped. Karen could only shake her head wordlessly.

"Must be the meds," Jack suggested, holding up his arm with the IV line in it. "At least, that's _my_ excuse. What the hell have you been drinking?" That sent them all into further gales of laughter, and Jack could only shake his head.

Audrey couldn't remember the last time she had heard Jack laugh. There was the tiny quarter of a smile that flickered on his lips occasionally, or the mirthless smirk directed towards his enemies, but genuine smiles were rare. Laughter was even rarer. Now, for the first time in a very long time, Jack was laughing so hard that he was nearly breathless. The sound was music to everyone's ears.

Dr. Holcomb and his staff loved their work, but it was tiring. Days at the clinic were almost always long, busy, and stressful. Now, however, the sounds of merriment drifting from Jack's room lifted a bit of their stress and brought smiles to their faces. They went about their routines as laughter and banter echoed in the room and the hallways beyond it for hours.

TBC


	36. Chapter 36

_A/N: For all those who were wondering about Karen's assassin…._

Chapter 36

Karen glanced at the ringing phone in front of her with mild annoyance as she answered it. "Karen Hayes."

"Karen, it's Lucas."

Karen arched an eyebrow as she shifted the phone to her other ear. "How are things going?"

"The situation that we discussed has been taken care of," Lucas replied cautiously. "You and you friends shouldn't have any more problems." Karen was silent. "You still there?" Lucas asked.

"I-I….yes, I'm here. I'm just…." Karen ran a hand through her hair. "I'm concerned about the repercussions this could bring from the Chinese government."

"It's a bit late to be thinking about that, isn't it?" Lucas said wryly. "Have a little faith, Karen. I know what I'm doing. It's been arranged to look like an untimely, very unfortunate accident."

"Good." Karen hesitated. "Are….are you sure that you succeeded?"

"I'm positive. Is this enough proof?" Computer keys clicked in the background. "Check your email," Lucas told her.

Karen did as instructed, and found that he had sent her post-mortem photos of the two men's corpses. She grimaced. "That's all the proof I need. Thanks." Lucas chuckled dryly. "Thank you for the….for the help," Karen told him earnestly.

"You're welcome." With that, Lucas ended the call.

Shaking her head, Karen hung up the phone. Turning back to her computer, she printed the photos that Lucas had sent her and placed them inside a manila file folder.

Bill Buchanan poked his head into the small office as Karen got to her feet and picked up the folder. "Going somewhere?"

"To the clinic," Karen said over her shoulder, grabbing her wallet and car keys. "I've got to talk with Audrey."

-o-o-o-o-

Audrey glanced up as footsteps approached the door to Jack's room. He was sleeping soundly, and Audrey hurried to answer the door before the visitor could wake him. "Hi, Karen," she said in surprise.

"Sorry to barge in like this," Karen said quietly, glancing apologetically at Jack's sleeping form. "Let's talk in the hallway so we don't wake him up."

Puzzled, Audrey followed Karen into the hallway and pulled the door closed behind them. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Do you recognize the name Lucas Saracelli?" Karen asked in reply.

Audrey nodded. "I've never met him, but I know who he is. He's a head-hunter, an assassin who works with the CIA. Why?"

"I've been in touch with him," Karen said simply. "I told him about our problem with Cheng Zhi and Aiguo."

A spark of hope flickered in Audrey's eyes. "Are they….did he…..?"

She left the question unfinished, but Karen understood. She nodded. "Yes, he did." She met Audrey's gaze. "Cheng and Aiguo are dead, Audrey. You and Jack don't have to worry about them anymore."

Audrey sagged against the wall, limp with utter relief. She exhaled hard, and ran a trembling hand over her face. Karen placed a hand on her shoulder. "You've been tense and on edge since this all began. It's over now. You can relax. I promise, it's all over. You're safe now."

With a wry smile, Karen handed her the manila folder. "Lucas sent pictures of the corpses as proof. I don't think you'll want to look at them, but Jack probably will. I'll let you be the one to give him the news."

Audrey grimly accepted the folder. "I'll tell him. And, Karen? Thank you."

Karen smiled. "You're welcome."

Audrey opened the door and stepped into the room to break the news to Jack.

_A/N #2: Just a quick note to let you know that there's only one more chapter left after this one. This story is 36 chapters long, and I finally got an idea for an ending, so I'm going to go with it._


	37. Chapter 37

_A/N: Well, here it is; the end of the story. This is the final chapter. I enjoyed writing this story, and I'm very glad that you enjoyed reading it. Thank you so much for all of your reviews. Your suggestions were great, and your comments often made me laugh. Did you have a favorite scene (or scenes) overall? Favorite quote(s)? Character(s)? If so, who/what? _

_Enjoy this last chapter!_

Chapter 37

**ONE WEEK LATER**

Jack shifted slightly in bed as he adjusted the sheets covering him. It was early enough in the morning that it was still dark, but he was wide awake. He had no idea what time it was, but he had a feeling that Dr. Holcomb's staff would be beginning their morning rounds soon. Once they did, chances were slim that he would be able to go back to sleep. Following the doctors' rounds, breakfast trays were delivered and the clinic came to life with a whirlwind of activity.

Dr. Holcomb had declared him strong enough to begin physical therapy, and he had met his therapist the previous afternoon. She was a dark-haired, cheerful young woman named Caitlin, with a friendly smile, and a determined and stubborn nature that easily matched Jack's.

Their first session together had been short, but for Jack it had been grueling. With the help of Caitlin, Audrey, and Dr. Holcomb, Jack had managed a short walk across the room to the bathroom. Even that pitifully short distance had left him trembling and exhausted, and Jack grimly realized that it was going to be a very long time before he would be able to return to work at CTU.

Jack pushed the blankets back and, with effort, sat up. He wasn't supposed to get out of bed without help, but this morning he felt like bending the rules. He slid forward until his feet touched the floor, gripped the bed railing tightly, and pushed himself upright into a standing position. His head reeled, and the floor lurched and swayed beneath his feet. Jack gripped the railing even tighter and closed his eyes until he regained his balance and the room stopped spinning.

Slowly, painstakingly, Jack hobbled the mercifully short distance to the window across from his bed. He was trembling by the time he had completed the short walk, and he grabbed the window ledge to keep from falling. He sank onto the wide, thickly padded window seat with a sigh of relief. The window glass was cool to the touch, and Jack leaned back and rested his head against the glass. It was too dark to see anything beyond the window, but he gazed into the murky blackness.

"Jack?" Startled, he turned to find Dr. Holcomb standing in front of him. "You're up early."

"I couldn't sleep," Jack said curtly.

Dr. Holcomb glanced at Audrey, who was curled up in the recliner next to Jack's bed. She was wrapped in a cocoon of blankets and sleeping soundly. "Did Audrey help you, or did you make it over here by yourself?"

"By myself."

Dr. Holcomb hesitated. "Please, be very careful," was all that he said. Jack smiled slightly as he nodded. "I came to do a vitals check," Dr. Holcomb added. Obligingly, Jack sat still as the doctor checked his pulse, heart rate, and temperature, and recorded the numbers on his chart.

"Your stats are a little high," Dr. Holcomb said wryly, "but that could be because you're still very weak and you just walked across the room by yourself." Jack ducked his head as his lips curved in a small smile.

"What time is it?" he asked.

The doctor checked his watch. "Just a few minutes past five o'clock. Sunrise will be soon. Would you like to go outside and see it?"

Jack nodded. "Yes, please."

Dr. Holcomb smiled. "All right, then. Let me go find a chair and some blankets for you." He left the room, returning shortly with a wheelchair and an armful of thick blankets. "Do you need help to get your shoes on?"

Jack stiffly opened and closed his right hand, and held up his thickly bandaged and casted left arm. "That'd be nice."

"No problem." Dr. Holcomb knelt and picked up the sturdy white tennis shoes that Caitlin had left, and slipped one onto Jack's right foot. Getting the left shoe on over the bulky cast and brace on Jack's left leg proved to be impossible, so the doctor left that one off. "One shoe on, one shoe off," he remarked, neatly tying the laces of the right shoe. "Isn't that a nursery rhyme?"

"Wee Willy Winky," Jack said with a small smile. "My daughter used to love that rhyme when she was little. I think Willy was missing a sock instead of a shoe, though."

"Close enough." Dr. Holcomb laughed. "Here, let's get you in the chair." Slowly, patiently, he helped Jack walk the short distance to the wheelchair and carefully settle into it. "There we go."

Audrey opened her eyes and sat up. "Jack?" she said sleepily. "Where are you going?"

"Outside, to see the sunrise," he told her. "Want to come?"

"Sure. Just let me get my shoes on and grab a jacket." Quickly, she slipped her feet into her shoes and pulled a light jacket on over her pajama top and pants. "There, I'm ready."

The long hallway was dark and silent. They moved as quietly as possible, trying not to disturb any of the sleeping patients in other rooms. Slowly, stealthily, Dr. Holcomb opened the door at the end of the hallway and maneuvered Jack's wheelchair over the threshold.

Behind the clinic building was a courtyard filled with beautiful, brightly colored plants and trees. A small fountain gurgled softly as water trickled through it, and birds and insects fluttered between the plants during the day. Patients came here with their families to share a quiet moment together, and staff often came for a brief escape from their hectic, busy schedules.

Dr. Holcomb brought Jack's wheelchair alongside the sturdy wooden bench that was positioned conveniently under a particularly large tree. "Here you go." He helped Jack climb from the wheelchair and carefully settle onto the bench. Audrey sat down next to him, wrapping them both tightly in one of the thick blankets that the doctor had brought.

Sensing that they wanted and needed to be alone, Dr. Holcomb parked the wheelchair next to the bench and quietly backed away. He slipped back into the building, pulling the door closed behind him.

The sky was beginning to lighten from a murky black to a dusky gray. Slowly, the gray gave way to a bright rainbow of colors splashed across the sky in streaks of red, orange, blue, and purple. In a few moments, the sun appeared on the horizon, a fiery orange ball of light. It was a breathtaking sight, peaceful yet so powerful. Jack closed his eyes and turned his face towards the sun, basking in the light and warmth.

Audrey moved closer, nestling into the crook of Jack's arm and resting her head against his chest. He felt and heard her soft laugh as he played with a silky strand of her hair, running it through his fingers. They sat silently together, watching as the sun's light spread around them, chasing away the night's shadows and illuminating the grass, trees, and plants.

Jack took a deep breath, filling his nose with the sweet scent of flowers and plants. After months of torture in a living hell, it had come to this. Instead of staring at steel bars and a cracked concrete wall, he was sitting with the woman he loved, watching the dawn of a new day.

At last, he was at peace.

THE END


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